This past weekend was the 40th anniversary of our church. I have been there for 35 years (give or take a 2 or 3 when we did something different). On Saturday evening we had a banquet and viewed a slideshow of previous years. I missed a bit when someone would come up to talk to me. The funny thing was that I didn't see myself in any of the photos. I thought about that a lot and it disturbed me. Not that I want anyone to see pics of me then :) but I invested a lot of myself in the church in my younger years.This morning I was pondering over the weekend, trying to sort through a few things, one of them being the slideshow. Then I heard the Lord's quiet voice in my spirit.
"But you were there. You were sitting beside Kathy(my precious friend who is now in heaven). You were at the teen rock-a-thon urging them on. You brought your children ( who were in the pics)...."
You get the idea. It reminded me of our study on the book of Esther. God is not mentioned throughout the book; you can't see his name on the page. If this book were a slideshow, He wouldn't show up. But oh, He was there, working through an ordinary girl to save her people.
It's like my life sometimes. I wonder, "are you there, God? I can't see you."
Looking back I realize He's been there all the time.
The interesting note: I took the photo above before I left for the supper. It just seems to fit.
2 comments:
What a wonderful post. It's natural for us to want to see ourselves in a retrospective...we wonder why we aren't or where we were when the photos were being taken. Sometimes we've been the photographer. Sometimes the photographer has only focused on his/her own family and friends without the proper vision to include everyone. Sometimes the person putting the retrospective together hasn't thought to make sure that everyone involved has been included. It happens. But the message you got from God speaks volumes. Because you got the important parts "right". ♥
I can see the moments that you were there, lets see every Sunday morning, Sunday evening, & Wednesdays for prayer mtg:) & youth mtgs, church dinners, & any special event that they were hosting. I think sometimes the people that we take for granted are the crucial ones that are the glue that holds it all together! I know that you & Dad have attended that church in the worst & best of times. I can see you there now! (Love the photo by the way).
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