March 19 – “on the move …”

We had a great group of folks at Seaside yesterday.  All ages.  Some weekenders.  Some snowbirds still hanging around.  Some locals.  Even a few brand new to the Island people who were checking us out for the first time.  I talked to one lady about the Galveston schools.  One person told me that she visited about a year ago and remembered doing the “picture things” (Visual Verses).  She wondered if that was something we do every week.  Another discovered she lives right behind one of our regulars.  One of the guys who plays guitar with Jim at his “other job” came, since they had a private party gig right after church.  He jumped right in and played with the praise team.  And dinner on the grounds after church was a real smash hit.  A lot of people stuck around to eat with us, and, as usual, God multiplied the food so we had more than enough.  He certainly appears to be on the move …

Excitement seems to be really building about the upcoming Easter Sunrise service and other Easter activities.  Candy for the egg hunt is trickling in.  Someone offered to start stuffing the Easter egg hunt eggs during the week.  Someone quietly handed me some money to be used for whatever our biggest expenses were for the event.  Another guy, also quietly, asked if he could bring some money next week so that somebody who knew what we really needed could do the buying.  And the sweet lady who is a transplant recipient shared with the group why she is going to be baptized.  Well said, too. 

Oh, and one of my personal favorite anecdotes of the day … Chris stayed home because she hadn’t been feeling well.  I can’t count the number of folks who told me to communicate with her that she was missed (I’m pretty sure the fact that I made a huge deal out of taking responsibility for messing up anything that Chris usually does had nothing to do with it).  But the one I appreciated the most was the little girl, about 3 or 4 years old, who approached me after church.  She is one of the regulars for Chris’ Kids’ Bible Story Time during the sermon every week.  She looked up at me with sad eyes and queried, “Where is Mama Chris?  Why isn’t she here today?”  I told her that Chris wasn’t feeling well.  She continued, “Well, will she be back here on next Sunday?”  I assured her that she would indeed most likely be feeling much better by then.  Her eyes brightened.  A sweet little grin filled her face.  And she frolicked away to join her Mom, casting over her shoulder a parting, “Oh, that’s good.”  Chris, I’m pretty sure you are loved.

Psalms 37:39 says, “The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; he is their stronghold in time of trouble.”

Father, thank you for the expressions of love and unity at Seaside yesterday.  And thank you that Chris is, indeed, feeling better.  Amen.