Time has gone by and where am I now?
Years ago a co-worker told me that he could not have gotten through the difficult periods in his life if it had not been for his church family. To tell the truth, at the time I did not understand the concept of a church family. I based this on the fact that I felt my church was full of judgemental parishioners who were all too busy with their own lives to care about anyone else.
During this crazy journey that I have been on, things have slowly changed. Just recently 2 of those changes snuck up and hit me along the side of my head, maybe it was just some angel trying to see if I was paying attention.
I am taking a bible class with 7 close friends. One evening while making my way back to my table, a gentleman looked at my name tag, said hello and called me by name. It felt kind of nice to smile at him and engage in a short conversation. Shortly after I found myself looking at other's name tags and realizing that a lot of these people I have known by name only for many years. It is nice to see so many fellow bible studiers along the street and realize that we do have common interests to talk about.
I have gotten to know a lady that works in our small town post office. She is aware of my families situation and is kind enough to occasionally ask about my son. At least once a month I mail letters and various information to him. This requires a stop at the post office to have my envelope weighed and posted. Recently Erik was moved from the correctional center in Lincoln to the one in Omaha, Shortly after the move I went to the post office with my monthly package. The lady at the post office looked at my letter and in a very excited voice cheers "He's been moved!!" The fact that she even realized he was in a new city made me smile. Some may still frown at me but maybe some other than my small group of those close to me are encouraging.
Suddenly I realize that not only do I feel a closer sense of my small town community, I have a church family.
I am sure there are still the judgemental parishioners and small town snobs, but something feels different.
Did this happen just recently or am I just more open to seeing things differently?
