We had been living in North Carolina for about fifteen months, had purchased our new home, settled down and managed to get all our affairs in order - well at least that's what I thought. We had new places to discover, a new life style to get used to and even a slightly different vocabulary to cope with.
However, we both realized that there was something missing, or rather I did. Gail had known what it was for some time. It took a little longer for the penny to drop as far as I was concerned, but at last it did. God was missing, no doubt about it.
We decided we needed not only God but to be surrounded by members of God’s family. So the search was on and we began to “shop for a church”. An awful thing to say I think, but in effect that's what we did. Of course, we didn't have to shop for a god - God had always been with us, although perhaps I had forgotten it. One August Sunday morning we attended Holy Eucharist at a small (very small) urban church in West Durham. St. Joseph's is known locally as "the little church with the big red doors". We walked through those doors and both of us felt immediately at home. I was raised an Anglican, Gail, Roman Catholic, so the Episcopal Church of America's liturgy, using the Book of Common Prayer, was familiar to us.
Between then and now my life has changed. I have met, got to know and trust, become friends with, many people. Many more than I ever had time to get to know while I was "busy" building a life, raising a family, working from dawn to dusk to keep us in so-called comfort. I suppose that's a real plus for becoming a senior. Retiring and having time to mix more with people from outside of your normal work environment and "social circles".
Did I find time to stop and ask a homeless guy if he needed any help? GUILTY!
Did I really mean it when I asked how a work colleague's sick relative was? GUILTY!
Did I really stop and think what I could do today to make a difference to someone else and not me? GUILTY!
Is it incredible how I traveled 4,000 miles to "come home"? ABSOLUTELY!
Is it incredible how the Holy Spirit guided Gail to persuade me to move from Europe to North Carolina? ABSOLUTELY!
Is it incredible that I have met so many of my brothers in sisters in Christ, whether they live in a 5-bedroom suburban house, a one bedroom apartment or on our church parking lot, who share love, trust and respect? ABSOLUTELY!
Who am I kidding? There is nothing incredible about it at all. I may have forgotten God for many years while I was trying to live life, but, He never forgot me! I was ALWAYS part of God's plan. I just needed that gentle push on the shoulder to “come home” to the family of Christ.
--Mick
