Home coming

This weekend we travelled to Red Deer to have a family reunion...family of God that is.

Most of these people were very influential in my early years as a Christian...these friendships are the closest and dearest to my heart.

The highlight of our weekend [Bonita and I] was going back to the Church where we met, Grace Community Fellowship.

I wept and wept...it was soooo good to come back home.

We had left 10 years ago...not on the best of terms...and had not been back since.

Pastor Art is a great man and a wonderful pastor, he and his wife poured their lives into ours in those first years of the church.

Their home was always open...the love of Christ was clearly shown and poured out into the lives of the community.

Now add to this some doctrinal differences and a good heap of some young men's [mine] zeal and pride and the conclusion was much hurt and heartache.

But Pastor Art and his wife Marge also showed us the love in Christ in their large and gracious hearts to us....not only forgiving us but taking us back in to the family...loving us, and even giving us opportunity to speak from the pulpit.

I am so glad that they gave me an opportunity to say a word or two because I oh so wanted to be able to share what was on my heart.

I wanted to be able to honor and esteeme a faithful servant of the Lord.

A pastor who really was a shepherd...not just a teacher...not just a guy who was in it for the money.

A man who love Christ's people...a man who was hospitable and patient and gentle and kind.

A man who forgave when offended [like His Lord does].

We had a great time worshiping with all our brothers and sisters there.

Thank the Lord for His grace and mercy...and thank the Lord for restored relationships.

Thank the Lord for godly men and women who are willing to pour their lives into others so that others can grow and mature into the fullness of Christ.