It is always special to “go home.” Last Sunday I preached at the Holmes Road Church in Lansing, Michigan. The bulletin board declared, “Welcome Home, Bob and Jan!” In August 1976, my family and I began twelve years of delightful ministry with the Holmes Road Church. It is hard to believe that was 34 years ago!
Last Sunday we remembered, we celebrated, we rejoiced, we cried. One sister (who will remain unnamed in this blog) said, “Thirty-four years! That was half a lifetime ago–I am almost 68!” We are not the same people we were 34 years ago. The church is not the same church. But our shared experiences remind that our relationships in Christ are eternal, just as is our relationship with God through Christ.
As one gets older, one becomes aware that the majority of life has passed to the past. Many of the things that mattered do not matter any more. The things we wanted are no longer high on our “want list”. The memories are less and less about things and more and more about the people who have brought us to where we are today. When we were younger, it was not always clear that life is about relationships. Today we are thankful to God that we established and nurtured relationships even when we did not realize how important they were. One more evidence of the grace of God. Thank you, Lord!