We thought we were done with each other.
But God wasn't done with us yet...
:)
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I was having lunch with my mom one day, and she informed me that my dad had run into Michelle, and "she was wearing one of those long skirts". Mama and Daddy were confused by it, but I knew exactly what it meant. Michelle was back in church...
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Even when we were little, she always had a hunger for God, which I did not understand.
My parents insisted on attending the 8:00 mass on Sunday mornings. Do you remember me saying I am NOT a morning person? Michelle looked forward to getting up early and going to church with us. And she was always genuinely interested in the message delivered, while I was counting down the minutes until we could go to the fellowship hall and have hot chocolate and cookies.
She would ask me questions about God that baffled me. I didn't know, and I didn't really care. So she would talk to my dad about them. I remember wondering why she was so curious about God. He's God. We go to church because He told us to. What more is there to it?
Michelle found answers at her aunt's church. I will never forget the first time I went with her as a child. Keep in mind I was a little girl who had only ever been to Catholic masses. We walked into a Pentecostal church, and all the women were wearing long dresses or skirts. Thank God Michelle told me to wear a dress. They all had beautiful long hair. I was in awe. Then the service started. People were singing really loud, throwing their hands in the air. I'm sure my eyes revealed my shock. I'd never seen anything like it. Then someone began babbling (that's what it seemed like to me at the time) and sobbing, and Michelle told me she was speaking in tongues. I had no idea what that meant, but I was scared. This was all so weird to me. And then they started running around the church in a circle. I asked Michelle if they were playing chase. She laughed and said they were filled with the Spirit. This totally freaked me out, and all I wanted to do was go home.
On the way back to her house, Michelle told me that she really wanted to speak in tongues. I had no response. This girl was like a sister to me. I knew her better than anyone else in the world, but I just could not wrap my brain around her obsession with all things God. I just didn't get it.
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The first time I saw Michelle after she'd gotten back in church, I was shocked at the difference that was so evident in her. She not only looked completely different - no makeup, no hair color, no jeans. She seemed lighter, happier, free. Those words probably sound cheesy here, but as I look back on that day, and the change in her, those are the words that describe my impression. And much to my surprise, she had gotten married.
I remember being so relieved to meet the Michelle standing before me on that day. She was no longer carrying the burden of a young girl who'd suddenly lost her father so many years ago. She no longer had questions. She had found God. He'd given her the life she'd been hoping for, and I was so happy for her.
We got together a few times after that, but the minutes dragged by in unspoken emotions and awkward pauses. Michelle talked a lot about God, her lifestyle and her church. While I too had found God, I hadn't been led to serve Him in the way Michelle felt called to live. I could tell she wanted to share her passion with me. I felt like she wanted me to follow in her footsteps, and this made me very uncomfortable.
So, while I was always happy to run into Michelle, I was also always quick to scurry on.
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But then God brought us together in a way we'd always hoped He would...
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