I'm the girl who is able to see both sides of an argument. In fact, there are many times when I start to argue one side, forget, and switch to the other side. It's a trait. It comes in handy when meeting new people, however, I am at a major disadvantage when I'm trying to convince my husband that I need to be right.
This trait has allowed me to be very open with different people's religious views. Notice I didn't really say faith :) To me, faith is personal. It isn't something most people are able to explain, it just
is.
I have been able to attend many different churches and really get something from each, because of this little trait.
My grandmother is the first person to drag my rear inside a church. We attended the Slick First Baptist Church in, you guessed it, Slick, Oklahoma. If I close my eyes and allow myself to go back there, I can still smell the old building. I know exactly where Flora sat (next to the sunday school room that allowed you to sneak out of the sanctuary, back where children's church was held... they had cookies there!) I know that gram would have mint gum, ink pens, and a stern look if I was loud. Church was where I learned to draw, pass notes, learn that sometime people should just lip sing, or whisper (ME!), and that grown men would sometimes cry, and that was okay, we just didn't talk about it. I took the walk down the aisle when I was six or seven, wanting to make my grandmother proud. I'll NEVER forget the look on her face when I looked into the congregation after reciting the sinner's prayer. She was crying...and smiling...and laughing. All three. You know, like the Trinity. :) The song Karen played, "I have decided to follow Jesus" still stops me in my tracks when I hear it. Still.
We moved away from this area when I was in the seventh grade. I attended baptist churches in New Mexico, Utah, and Purcell Oklahoma before landing back in Slick for my senior year.
While in Utah, I was lucky enough to not get beat up when I called one of the Temple's a "big house" and even attempted to sneak into one or two while at softball tournaments. I would sit in the back of the athletic bus and talk to the girls for miles and miles about what we believed to be true. I was so interested. Our beliefs are so, so, so SO SO SO different. So interesting at the same time :)
When I came back to Bristow, I attended the advent christian church. again, very different from my foundation, but I learned to love differences and loved the people, so I really couldnt see how it was wrong, right?
As I grew older, though... religion started to make my mouth sour. I'm not a religious person. I don't believe in labels. To me, if you believe the basics (what Jesus taught) then, the small details are okay. I mean, really... baptists, southern baptists, have only been around since the civil war... but CHRISTIANS have been around...well, a few years longer.
***Sorry to be jumping around... I'm getting to my point...***
When my family, TeamTaylor, moved back to Bristow, my #1 goal was to get my kiddos to Sunday School. I wasn't confident that I could teach them about Jesus. Not the way they need. The foundation they need.
At first, I didn't care who, where, when, anything... we just needed to find a church family. Then, the unthinkable happened to one of my oldest friends and I ended up sitting in a big beautiful church listening to her preacher talk to a capacity-filled sanctuary about the love of Jesus and the pain of life. I knew in that moment, where my family would be spending our Sunday mornings.
At the time, I was only thinking of my children. Kevin works on Sunday, and I didn't care much about me.
A few weeks ago, I started a bible study with some of the women, led by one of the sweetest people in Creek County. The book we are reading,
becoming more than a good bible study girl, by Lysa TerKeurst, is FREAKING AMAZING...OHMYGOSH
She explains in the book (we are only on ch. 4) that
*
sometimes you have to give stuff up that you have been holding onto to allow God to work.
*
things are most often idols (Whaaa?)
* trust. Trust. TRUST.
I type ALL of that above to say this.... today, God was here with us. We got rid of our brand new, 11 miles when we bought it, car. When we did, we didn't know what we were going to do, we just knew that we couldn't continue to afford it. We just couldn't.
Today, we were able to purchase a new (to us :) ) car, which is so much better than our one year old car we just had to have.
Today, we are back to a two car family... with no lein holders.
I can look back on my life, and see where God is. Whether or not I chose to acknowledge him, he was there. He guided me where I need to be, let me fall FLAT on my face, allowed me to suffer great heartbreak, and get fat. He also has made sure, because I truly believe, that I stayed on the right path. Well, Him and grandma teamed up on that one.
I know that this blog is long... I just needed to get it all out there, tonight.
If you are in Bristow, or close. Please allow me to bring you with me to church one Sunday. I can promise, you will come back. We can even sit in the back, where good baptists sit! You can even wear...
jeans!
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