Flashback Friday

Did your family attend church when you were growing up?

That would be a BIG NO!

I have said before that one of my deepest regrets is that my mom did not lay that foundation for my sister and me when we were growing up. I look back now on those day and I am sad for those little girls and sad for all three of us. I think of the turmoil and the anxiety of those times and I wonder how it might have been different if I had know who Jesus was.

Let me just say that there is a big “BUT” in this situation. When I think of how difficult it was for us growing up and the decisions and the choices I made as a result of how things were I can’t help but wonder would I be the same person if had I been removed from those difficult situations.

The reality of the matter is that we learn our most valuable lessons from our difficult times.

What are your earliest memories of church?

I do remember going to church on occasion. We went on Christmas and Easter once and a while but that was it.

I do have one very clear memory of going through confirmation class or one class at least. I am not sure why I was there or what church it was. Maybe we were members of this church, but a lot of my childhood memories have been pushed out of my head. I think it is a defense mechanism to avoid unpleasant feelings. Anyway in thinking about this since I was in the confirmation class implies that we would have been members, at least that's how it’s done at our church.

Anyway I digress again. This memory has more to do with Kentucky Fried Chicken rather than any profound spiritual truth.

I don’t remember how old I was, elementary school probably. This class I was in took a field trip out to a rural monastery. Again I am not sure why we went or what we learned but for whatever reason we found our little selves out in the country at this monastery and we all had sack lunches.

The sack lunch is the key to this Flashback!

Now I have to preface this by saying that my sack lunch was a real treat for me. It was one of these boxed dinners from Kentucky Fried Chicken.

We NEVER EVER or VERY RARELY ate out. I am not even sure how I lucked out and received this KFC treat for lunch. All I remember was the anticipation of knowing that I had my fried drumstick and little Styrofoam container of mashed potatoes to look forward to.

At lunch time we found ourselves ushered into a large very fancy room with a big dinning room table. We all sat around the table and were given instructions to place our lunch bags in front of us. Then to my horror we were told to pass our lunch bags to the right of us like musical chairs.

Say it isn't so! I was so disappointed! I wasn’t going to get to eat my KFC.

Being the selfless youngster that I was at the time I was at least obedient when told to shift my lunch to the right as instructed. However when it came time to open the unknown lunch in front of me I hastily reached out and snatched my box back and enjoyed my fried chicken.

Let’s just say that the concept of share and share alike was not in my character  back in those days.

Did you attend VBS (Vacation Bible School) when you were young?

NOPE!

Sunday School? Other church activities?

NOPE, again!

Was faith a Sunday-only thing or did it impact your life and the things you did?

Faith was non existent. It was not talked about or practiced.

If faith and church were not a part of your growing-up years, when and how did you begin and what drew you to God?

WOW! I will condense if that is possible!

Before my son was born my husbands and I began attending church.

In looking back upon my motives they were less that altruistic. In my twisted sense of things if I wanted to be the very definition of a “Good Mother” then the first requirement was taking my child to church. In my wonderfully warped maternal-ness I was winning extra brownie points for actually taking my child to church while still in utero. Patting myself on the back all the while telling myself that all the church-ness was just something folks did.

It was the proverbial “Do As I Say Not As I Do” theory.

I was there so my child could reap the rewards of a church upbringing. It did, not nor was it going to, have anything to do with me!

I am laughing at myself even as I typed those words.

God is so patient, so forgiving and so very compassionate.

My son was almost three years old, I had experience some of the worst years of my marriage, received a cancer diagnosis, sorting thought years of family dysfunction, as well as nearly having to file for bankruptcy before I came to realize that I could not lay the foundation for my child unless I was standing firmly upon it myself!

Twenty one years later and I am still here with my feet firmly planted upon the solid rock!

Y’all it was a hard journey! Lot’s of days it still is!

A lot of pain, suffering and turmoil have crossed my path, but when I allowed Jesus to come in something shifted within my heart and…well any believer can tell you that in that moment words fail.

Let me just give a BIG thank you to Mocha with Linda for today's Flashback Friday!

Talking about or I should say blogging about Jesus is my favorite thing in all the world!

Y’all head over to Mocha with Linda and link up to the Flashback Fun!

Blessings

R