My take on the Adventure

words:1522

Week 1 of The Lenten Adventure according to Sandy

Write all that you have learned thus far about your faith:

As a child, I was born into a Methodist family. My parents, grandparents and great grands were all Christians and I was taught from birth Jesus loved me. My parents were wonderful examples to me. They expected me to do the right thing and let me know in no uncertain terms when I was wrong.

My daddy and granddaddy did not go to church every Sunday, but lived and spoke God's word daily. Both were a little girl's perfect daddy and granddaddy. They are how I envision the God I love to be. Mama, my sisters and I went to church and Sunday School every Sunday and most Wednesdays.

I do not remember a time of NOT knowing how much Dad loved me. (Can't beat that for a blessing!)

I was saved on a beautiful, sunshinny, Easter Sunday when I was twelve years old.

I taught Sunday School class and Vacation Bible School for 8-11 year olds and also the youth group for approximately fifteen years in the Methodist Church. I was totally dedicated to this awesome responsibility. After all their souls were in my hands.

I moved to another area after my children were grown and attended a Baptist Church where I had a very close relationship with Christ. I taught the youth group here as well.

I had been frightened of the Catholic faith from childhood up. My great grandfather had married a Catholic woman after his first wife died and she was raising the children from their marriage in this faith. Her parents and she wanted one of her children to be raised as a religious(A person who belongs to a religious community according to its rule. Men religious are called monks or friars; informally both may be called brothers. Women religious are called nuns or sisters). They conspired to send the youngest daughter to Texas from Mississippi to be raised in a convent as such. Grandpa said, "No way!" Probably not in those words either.

They were going to sneak Aunt Martha out one night before Grandpa returned from a trip. Well, glory if he didn't get home early and catch them. A heated argument ensued. What happened next is told two ways:

1)There was a fight whereby Grandpa was knocked out with a chair by some of his wife's relatives and the youngest of Grandpa and his first wife's sons thought they had killed him and shot them all.

2)Grandpa went crazy and during the fight shot and killed his wife and her parents.

I got version one from an old man who lived next to them during that time and I believe it to be true. Which ever is correct, Grandpa claimed responsibility ( per the old man telling me) to keep Uncle Evie from being marked by the talk. He spent the rest of his life in prison.

As a child these stories were rampant and whispered indwelling total fear of Catholics in a small child-me. There were no Catholic churches or parishioners within 40 miles of us and that was my only knowledge of that faith until I had a Catholic cousin spend a week with us when I was around eleven years old.

Mama carried us to town (38 miles away and a treat) and stopped and bought us hamburgers. It was the first time I had ever eaten anything not prepared in Mama or a grandmother's home. Wow! and excited! Teeny suddenly turned white as a ghost and burst into tears.

Through blubbering and panic she explained she had taken a bite of the burger and swallowed it. AND....and it is Friday she explained to someone who had no idea of why she was upset...

She was raised in the Catholic faith in Louisiana and went to school at the Catholic School...She was totally convinced she would go to hell and the nuns would strictly punish her upon returning home....

Well, I can tell you now, I did not worship that God. My God was loving and compassionate and if I did do something He thought was a sin ( I still didn't believe eating a piece of meat was a sin) Jesus had died for my sins and would forgive me if I confessed and meant it. And my God did not condone sneaking little children away from their families in the middle of the night!

Years later, I met a Catholic who explained I had a very tainted view of the faith and explained some of the faith's beliefs. A few years after that, I transported prisoners nationwide for a living and found Catholic churches to be the only ones open during the week.

There are times I just want to be inside a church, on my knees at the altar to talk to Dad so I found myself going to a Catholic altar. The first time I ever stepped across the threshold I had broken out in a cold sweat and had knots deep in my gut. God didn't strike me down by the time I got to the altar to pray and I left relieved, at peace and filled with joy. Invariably a Priest or lady in the gift shop of the churches would talk to me, answer questions for me and I found myself loving the faith. Seven years later, I was no longer transporting inmates and attended Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) class to learn even more of the Catholic faith and joined that church. It has been an awesome journey and walk with Dad all the way.

I have worshipped as a guest with other faiths in their home churches also...Assembly of God, Mormon, Seventh Day Adventist, Pentecostal...

All that to say, I don't believe Dad is going to ask me what denomination I am when I reach heaven. I believe I will find people of all faiths there.

It is also to say as close as I have always felt to Dad I have also endured some very hurtful, sorrowful, hard times during my life. No, it's not always been easy, but it has always ended in being blessed beyond belief. Have I always felt that? No. I have been plagued with deep depression from time to time and still fight that battle. I have learned to say, "get thee behind me Satan." for I know that is where darkness comes from.

I have learned I do not doubt Dad nor his love for me. I am human and falter even when I think I am doing the right thing{good intentions and where they lead}. Dad is still always there for me arms open, lap available, waiting...

What has spoken to your heart most about our time together?

That this is where I am supposed to be at this time in my life...on this journey AND with all of you. I feel compassion and caring from you...some more than others. I feel your prayers and feel mine are strengthened through them.

I am devoted to gaining a whole new perspective of the trials the apostles, the Christians, the Jews, the Gentiles endured and their responses to those as a guide to making better choices for my own life.

I feel the deepest need I've ever had to research and understand as thoroughly as possible this time in history. I have always felt I knew much of the Bible...the Word....and understood it and find I had only scraped the very tip of what is to be known.

What is it that has helped, or hindered you the most?

I have had problems learning the ins and outs of tracing the threads and posting correctly, but am getting the hang of it. (Famous last words!)

Ole Ugly himself has put demons in my computer and disabled it, put ideas like I don't have the time to be putting this much effort and time into this (After all, I KNOW I love the Lord, I KNOW he loves me, so....), I need to be cleaning house, or, or, or, or....Why, am I doing this? I'm not making a difference to anyone and it is probably selfish to spend so much time with this. Am I making any sense when I am doing IC posts and am I being true to the way my character would have reacted?GET THEE BEHIND ME SATAN!!!

What has helped the most is the encouragement of all of you and the intense sense of Dad wanting me to be just where I am. It has helped knowing there are others going through some of the same things I experience. Your sharing those things has helped me to open up and address and even share with you as well. Bud and Winnie your guidance and research has been invaluable to me. Dad doles out blessings even when we don't ask or expect more than we already have.

Have you seen some amount of "distance" between where you began the adventure, and where you find yourself today?

While I have always felt a connection to Levi(not my character's real name), I feel even more so now. I have learned much and feel a peace and closeness to Dad that is more powerful than I have ever felt. I feel I have gone all the way around the world and back from where I was on day 1.