One thing I’ll always remember.
Jamie and I had felt the call move to Midland area after being married for just over three years. I had struggled with thinking this could actually be a good thing. Really?! Leaving a town of 400,000 people to go to a hick town of l5,000. Surely this wasn’t God’s leading. We had prayed and wanted it to be completely clear if this where we were to be. Sure enough, we both had received a peace about it in different ways and were now on the move! We packed up our home, left all we knew with our two young children and moved three hours north of our hometown. We purchased a beautiful home in a very small town, Victoria Harbour. The population in the Harbour was just over 1000 people. It was a beautiful town surrounded by Georgian Bay. Compared to city life it felt as though we landed smack dab in the middle of cottage country! It was so peaceful.
Jamie had taken a job with Kindred, which is what led us on this wild adventure. As this was all taking place we had received a Word that this journey wasn’t about the job, although the job is what would lead us to where we were to be. There were only a couple of churches in Midland to choose from. We had gone to one church that had similar beliefs. It was a smaller church but the people were so sweet, the worship was what we were use to, and the word was great! But there was one MAJOR downfall.....we were surrounded by a sea of grey hair. There were hardly any young families.
I remember talking with my Grandmother later that week and sharing with her about how we only saw a couple young families and that was pretty much it. I was 24, Jamie 25 and clearly this wasn’t the greatest place to meet and connect with other families our age. I will never forget my Grandmothers words. She said, ‘It’s not about what you’ll get, it’s about what you can give.’ She said, ‘How many others do you think had come in and out for that same reason?'
Her words pierced me. Not in a bad way, but in a good way. How could a church draw younger families, if no younger families were willing to stay? I remember my mentality changed from “We can’t stay here', to "We must stay here!’ Sure enough this is where we planted our feet. I would say this is the place we grew the most dramatically in our faith. We had a super fun Pastor who could PREACH! We had leaders who breathed wisdom, love and encouragement into us. They encouraged our gifts even when they were rough and not yet fully developed. They oozed love, they oozed encouragement and they put a demand on what was inside of us to come out! I will never forget how dramatically our lives were changed in those few short years.
I remember talking with my Grandmother later that week and sharing with her about how we only saw a couple young families and that was pretty much it. I was 24, Jamie 25 and clearly this wasn’t the greatest place to meet and connect with other families our age. I will never forget my Grandmothers words. She said, ‘It’s not about what you’ll get, it’s about what you can give.’ She said, ‘How many others do you think had come in and out for that same reason?'
Her words pierced me. Not in a bad way, but in a good way. How could a church draw younger families, if no younger families were willing to stay? I remember my mentality changed from “We can’t stay here', to "We must stay here!’ Sure enough this is where we planted our feet. I would say this is the place we grew the most dramatically in our faith. We had a super fun Pastor who could PREACH! We had leaders who breathed wisdom, love and encouragement into us. They encouraged our gifts even when they were rough and not yet fully developed. They oozed love, they oozed encouragement and they put a demand on what was inside of us to come out! I will never forget how dramatically our lives were changed in those few short years.
When we first got to that specific church, we were looking through a selfish lens. We weren’t seeing through the lens of Christ. We originally looked at this carnally and would have missed out on these amazing relationships. Had we not decided to stay we would have missed out on the wisdom that was in this house and wouldn’t have been championed at such a young age. To be honest, up until that time, I really only hung out with people my age. But after being apart of this church, I couldn’t wait for Tuesday night bible study! I LOVED LIFE GROUP! These people with grey hair were a riot! They loved to laugh, they loved life and had so much wisdom to share!! When we left to move back to London years later the little church that once had only a couple families now had MANY young families in it!
These words have stuck with me in so many different situations since that day. What can I bring? What can I add? How can we serve? I think our churches, jobs, and spheres of influences CAN look RADICALLY different if we would choose to pick up the ‘What can I give’, ‘How can I serve? What can I bring to the Table? attitude instead of the, ‘There’s nothing for me here!” one.
So I encourage you today, don’t run from situations that don’t offer you something if it’s something you can offer! Step up, throw your hat in the ring and you never know, it could be just the opportunity you’ve been looking for and just the thing others coming behind you need!
Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many."
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