His Body, My People

I am thankful for the body of Christ.  The church is a blessing and has always been a blessing in my life.  When I was led by the Lord to go to New Orleans for seminary, I packed all I had (except for those classic treasures that you clutter your former closet with-  too valuable to get rid of and too useless to actually carry) in the Honda Civic and headed 600 miles from Momma.  Those were lonely days and days of soul-searching.  However, I met friends in that short-lived dorm stay that I can still lean on if needed. 
Six months later I took my first pastorate.  The church was a graying church that had been battered and bruised.  I just loved on them and cut my teeth on writing sermons weekly.  They were good to me and gave me space to grow.  I will forever appreciate those men that I had coffee and donuts with at a local little shop as we hashed out the world's problems.  Those many potluck leftovers from the ladies kept a hungry preacher fed during thinner days. 
We then moved to SC and I was near family and we started our family.  We had babies alongside our members (not literally).  The bond of those young families was absolutely amazing.   We watched our children grow and our lives change.   We then came to North Mississippi and the love that this dear church has for us and the care that they give our kids is remarkable.  The question is never if we can find help when schedules get tight and we need to do a kid 'toss-about', but who will it be this time.   Once again we are blessed to walk alongside of peers that are trying to raise their kids and sweet Seniors that make you feel like you hung the moon. 
I think of those bonds when I read the words of Christ- And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.” - Mark 3:34-35 (www.lifejournal.cc)  
If you are not investing in the lives of the others through the church and are not faithfully walking alongside brothers and sisters that you worship with on a weekly basis, prioritize your lives for worship and fellowship.  The church, the body of Christ, is the gift that keeps on giving.