Church: Where Christ Fills Everything

For a time, after we were married, my husband and I took a vacation from attending worship. At that point in our lives we were in a new city, with new friends who did not attend church. We became true C and E Christians (Christmas and Easter, get it?), only attending with our families in our hometowns for the holidays. Though my goal was to show the kind of love my amazing parents did, and I felt good when I did that, something was still missing.

I told myself that we were still “good Christians,” caring for others, serving and staying “connected” to our faith. And I believed me. One of the key points in the self-promotion of my good Christian-ness was that we were faithful in prayer, which clearly meant we were staying close to God and true to our faith.

A few years after we moved back to Kansas City a friend invited us to church. Not just once, but every week. Until we finally said “Yes. See you Sunday in the back row.” Sitting in that space (it is now the Wesley Chapel) my heart felt different. There was a peace that I could not explain. It was as though my soul had just been waiting for me to realize what was missing in my life.

We came back the next week. And every week after that. Then we started to volunteer in the church-–teaching Sunday school, serving on committees, helping with special events. The more we did, the more opportunities we found. We worked on building houses with the Habitat teams, served meals at homeless shelters, tutored in our partner schools, cleaned up after storms, learned to stucco on a church in Costa Rica, and so much more. In all those times, we didn’t ever serve alone. We were part of something bigger. We were part of the body of Christ. Our part was small, but it felt so significant.

Somewhere in the midst of attending worship and serving with our fellow church members, it became clear that for the good that we are doing, God is rewarding us beyond our wildest dreams. For over 26 years, Resurrection has not only been our church home, it has also been where I work, and where we have found our church family.

Resurrection has come alongside my husband, our kids and me through all life has given us. In the best of times and the worst of times, friends from church–along with many people we didn’t even know–were there for us.

Our kids were “raised Resurrection” and as a proud mom, there are so many times that I look at them and realize that my husband and I are the sandwich generation of goodness in our family. They are the kind of people I want to be around. They are passionate about people and boldly stand in the gap for the marginalized.

I would love to take credit for the people our kids have become, but in my heart I know that it was in the seats of Resurrection that they found what it means to truly know, love, and serve God. In the season of Thanksgiving, I pause to give thanks for this place where God reminded me of what I was missing and welcomed us back with open arms.