Churchsick

Being homesick is a pretty common thing to experience during a huge life transition, but I hadn't thought too much about being churchsick. Sometimes at night, I wander down the halls of our house in my mind, visiting favorite spots, meandering along the pathways in the garden during a favorite season, sitting on the front porch with a cup of coffee during a summer rainstorm. I will miss all of those things, but on Sunday mornings I really miss seeing the people we've come to see as our church family over the many years in Yazoo City. The hymns we sang most often, the gorgeous flower arrangements one of our talented church ladies had created  -- often in commemoration of one of the people who had touched our lives through our many years there. To share a history with a community of believers is a special thing, and while we are excited about finding a new church family, it's a bittersweet thing.

After months of being in transition, we are eager to build relationships with new people and especially with a body of believers who will share our faith and be a spiritual encouragement to us while we find ways to serve within that body.

     Since they were talking about serious matters, Dahlia decided to get Berlena's take on another subject that had been much on her mind lately. "Berlena, do you believe God is like a tree?"
     "A tree?" Berlena thought for a minute. "Yes, a tree that is strong and graceful. A tree that has many large, shady branches that provide shelter to those who come seeking rest from a harsh world. He provides for us--the way a tree provides fruit for nourishment and kindling for our fires. But I think that I am more inclined to see God as a stream, and we are the trees--drawing our life strength from Him. He connects and refreshes us all." Thinking for a moment, she added, "Like a tree, we suffer and become weaker and more sickly the further we grow from the stream."  (Desert Rose)