The Tie that Binds

I grew up in a small town in Tennessee. Maybe you've heard of it? New Johnsonville, TN? Zip code 37134? Population contained within that zip code according to my inquiry online 3,018? That sounds high though so Google could be having an off day. If you know it, I probably know you so let me just say - Hey friend! How have you been and say hello to the family! That's just how a small town works. I know you and you know me and I beg you not to comment in the comment space about all the really dumb things I did when I was a kid because that is another post completely! 

My thoughts have been pretty focused today on my community. No, not that small town only, though they are included, but, my community of faith. My family in Christ. That family started in that small town. In that average looking church building full of normal, everyday folks.

I cannot remember a day of my life that I didn't know the people at the New Johnsonville Church of Christ. From birth my parents made sure I was taught the importance of God's Word and His family. I was baptized into the body of Christ in that building and can remember being told things like "welcome to the family" and "so glad you are my sister now" as they congratulated me on beginning a new stage of my life. I understood the meaning of words that they were saying and I new that there was a deeper, spiritual meaning there but, I did not really grasp just how deep that meaning was until I was older.  

Fast forward a few years and I was married in that church building. From my youth my parents made sure I was taught about the kind of mate I should be looking for. I was surrounded by the same people who had welcomed me into the family of God and called me sister. They were now congratulating me on yet another new stage in my life. I was beginning to see the family dynamic of the church unfold but I still did not really grasp just how deep that dynamic was. 

We were married a year and we were packed up and moving across the country to yet another small town, Clayton, New Mexico. My husband had accepted his first full time preaching position. From the time I could talk my parents made sure to teach me to use my voice as a tool for God. It was 1000 miles exactly from the door of our house in Clayton to the door of my parents home in New Johnsonville. My parents were sad, to say the least, that I was moving so far away but they were loaded up with us and tagging along as our moving crew. We were young, nervous, excited, and full of all kinds of feelings that we had never felt before. Many members of the congregation showed up to help us unload and worked really hard to make us feel welcome. Then, my parents left. They drove away. There we were, my husband and I. What had we done? My family was not there! My family was in New Johnsonville, Tennessee! My husband consoled me and the church family took us both in as their own. I saw a bit more of what that family meant and was beginning to see something deeper.

We were very busy working with the church in Clayton for three years. We were blessed with the birth of our first child while we were there. Then we were packed up and moving across the country to yet another small town to work with the church in Paris, KY. We had purchased a house sight unseen, by us anyway. My parents and one of the members of the church there had worked very diligently to find us a place to live. We arrived late at night but there, at our never before seen house, was a posse of church folks ready to work. They worked very hard to make us feel welcome. We were closer to my parents now and were very excited to get to see them more often. When they drove away this time it wasn't nearly as traumatic. There was a new feeling now, a longing, not for New Johnsonville but for Clayton. I missed them deeply. My husband consoled me, yet again, and the church family took all three of us in as their own. I was sensing a pattern it was beginning to look familiar. I saw even more of what that family meant and it was getting deeper.

The work of the church was chugging along for four years in Paris. We were blessed with the birth of our second child while we were there. Then we were packed up and moving across the state to the not so small town of Louisville, KY to work with the Watterson Trail Church of Christ. Church members at Paris loaded us up in one of their trailers and joined us and my parents as we moved yet again. Many members of the congregation showed up to welcome us and help us. Then, our friends from Paris drove away. They drove away. What had we done? We had new people to get to know, again! Now I was still deeply missing the church at Clayton, NM and longing for the familiarity and friendships of the church at Paris, KY! My husband, ever the trooper, consoled me one more time and the church family took all four of us in as their own. Wait? Is this song stuck on replay? I was really seeing the pattern now. I would be crazy to miss it this time! This is what they meant by "welcome to the family sister!" 

The work of the church was strong for the eight years we were at Watterson Trail. We were blessed with the birth of our third child while we were there. Then, the hardest move yet. We were packed up and moving to West Virginia to work with Ohio Valley University. My parents were there as always. The trucks were loaded and there were still things left to load! An Elder, a deacon, and the youth and family minister said "no problem, we have you covered." They loaded up their own personal vehicle and were tagging along with us. Then, as they always do, they drove away. Now, it's real. I moved so far away from my family in New Johnsonville all those years ago only to find that I had truly been moving closer to God's family all along.

God has taught me the meaning of His word through this journey. I have learned, very deeply, the meaning of Ephesians 4:4-6 which says:

"There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call - one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

And now, Acts 4:32 is so much more vivid to me. It says:

"Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common."

I know what it means to be so inter-connected with the one body. I have shared deep sorrows and joys with my family that no one outside of that family would understand. When a member of my family has joy, I feel it with them. When a member of my family has pain and sorrow, I ache with them.

What brings all of this to my mind today? Some members of my family are hurting very deeply today over the tragic loss of a dear loved one. I have been hurting for them and praying for them. Though I cannot be with them physically I am still able to wrap them in prayers for their grief. 

I grew up in a small town but now I am part of a large community filled with nothing but members of my family, God's family. That, in my humble opinion, is the tie that binds.