As a new member to the Carterville Church community I feel I need to start with an introduction. I was a born and raised in Chicagoland and moved to Joplin in August 2010 for my first big boy job as a dispatcher at Con-way Truckload. I graduated from a private Catholic university but I was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran church. I continued that Faith when I moved to Joplin but things didn’t click.
It was difficult starting over in a brand new town where I knew absolutely no one. It was even more difficult starting over in a brand new church. I had gotten so used to the ‘going to church on Sunday’ routine that I had lost track of my faith. Not interested in the style of worship the Lutheran church offered or experiencing the community feeling I had in my church back home I stopped attending.
But prior to that, I thought about what my life was, besides going to church every week. I didn’t pray, I didn’t read from the Bible (which means I wasn’t learning) and my relationship with God had dwindled from a friendship to an acquaintance.
It wasn’t until November 2010 when my co-worker and friend Danner, asked me out to lunch before work. (I had been bugging him about how I hadn’t found a good Chinese place here yet). Prior to eating, he told me, “I don’t know what your relationship with God is but I always pray to say thanks before a meal.” I folded my hands and nodded my head just like I had been instructed as a child. It wasn’t until after we were finished that I recognized my action. It was the first time I had prayed in months. At the time that simple gesture was not fully acknowledged.
From that moment I looked to Danner as a mentor. He and I worked overnight and we would take walks outside at 3 AM to avoid sleepiness. During these walks I would often share my problems with him looking for this “older brother I never had” advice. His answers were always faith inspired.
“Have you been praying about it?”
“Have you looked to the Bible for answers?”
It wasn’t long before I started making prayer part of my daily life. There are only two things you can pray for, help and thanks. If there wasn’t a day I was praying for the first, I prayed for the latter. I also started reading a Bible again from the beginning. I can’t say I didn’t struggle through that but I tried.
In February, Danner asked me to go to church with him and that was the first time I heard a sermon at Carterville Christian. I’m not going to lie and say the extravagance of the Praise team wasn’t what initially drew me in but once the lights and sounds stop it was just a man on a stage with a Book preaching the word of God. It was spoken from the Bible in a familiar voice.
I knew Sy asked me to write a devotional because I’m an amateur writer and I wanted to get more involved, but when he told me the verse I had to look it up. When I read it, I smiled knowing God had chosen this verse for me because my faith has grown into a tree with many branches.
31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”
I was reminded why I chose to be confirmed when I was thirteen. The seed was planted at baptism but it was up to me to nurture my relationship with God. I needed God most when I moved to Joplin, yet I didn’t turn to him. Instead, I remained alone and defeated. It was the seed that Danner planted in my head, praying to say thanks which made me think and be reminded of who I was and where I came from spiritually.
I often ask myself ‘How has my Faith grown since moving out on my own?’
How has your faith grown in the last year? 5 years?
When I was fifteen I would have said I was a Christian for all the wrong reasons. Accepting the Kingdom of Heaven doesn’t mean going to church because it’s Sunday morning or praying because it is dinner time in the house. It doesn’t mean going to Bible Study just to see your friends. It’s a sense of understanding and reflection which waters the seed in your heart. Once that seed has grown into a tree it means inviting others to perch on the branches, Christian and non-Christian, sharing the incredible news of his Kingdom.
Recently I had to reflect on how my faith had grown when I was offered a job. It was in a bigger city, for a lot more money. I prayed for guidance and I looked to my mentor for advice. I listened to the sermon that Sunday and heard Sy preach and reference Proverbs 16:9 and it stuck in my mind.
Many of you may ask “Why would that be such a difficult decision to accept a job for more money in a town I’m more accustomed to?” The book of Proverbs states…
9 In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
God places the seed of Faith in all of us. He establishes the plan but it is still our responsibility to follow our own path of growth. It is so much easier for your Faith to dwindle. It involves no effort what so ever, just give into any temptation your heart desires, and your faith dies. But water the plant, and you will watch it grow into something extraordinary and how it will affect your everyday life. But I’m off on a tangent…
Now to answer your question why I turned down the job…
The sole explanation to why I turned down the job is because I didn’t feel I could practice my faith as I do in my current setting. I can return “God bless you” and pray in the cafeteria at work and not worry about political correctness. I say a prayer before every shift to watch over our drivers. The first day I did that was May 22nd, exactly one hour before the tornado struck Joplin.
And even post-tornado, I love this town and church more because I see how it has shaped my relationship with God. I’ve made faith my foundation, rather than a decoration. I’ve transformed from a Child of God into a Godly man. And it all began with a dinner prayer at a Chinese restaurant.
Has the seed of Faith been planted in your heart? And if so, how will you make it grow?
Tom Meisinger
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