Today I'm thankful for my church and the people in it. I've been back in Minneapolis almost three months and intentionally avoiding going there because that's the boys' and my home church and the idea of going there without them sounded painful. But I drove there and went there anyway. The inside has been remodeled and is so pretty. The church has a large congregation and it was pretty full. I found a seat during worship and was singing for a good few minutes before I realized that I was sitting next to this couple, Dan and Cheryl Wuerch, who the boys and I lived with.
I had lived with a guy friend of mine who insisted he was just trying to help the boys and me, but as soon as he found out I had a boyfriend he kicked me out. My ex loved Woodland Hills and visited that church every time he would fly in to Minnesota because that's where his friend Matt would go. Cheryl responded to our need for housing- a day before I was supposed to move out. Not only did Dan and Cheryl have a huge house, they raised an adult child with autism and Cheryl is a sign language interpreter (Felix is non-verbal, and Cheryl helped us all learn basic sign language to communicate with him). The whole thing was a huge blessing. Cheryl was also pretty much my only confidant during a lot of the relationship issues. I am so thankful today that out of a room of about 1,000 people I sat right next to them without realizing it.
We talked after the service and they told me that they never come to the 11am service but felt that they needed to today. It was definitely a divine appointment. Being able to tell them I had a full-time job and had made so many positive changes. Sometimes in the day to day you don't think you've changed, and some people will try to bring you down and tell you you're "the same old person you've always been," but talking to them showed me how much I had changed since meeting them.
We went to services there as a family. I volunteered in the children's ministry. It was part of our routine. We were one of the sponsored families at Christmas time and people were so generous to us. I spent every Thursday night there in a support group where I bonded with so many amazingly strong women. They have a special child care area for kids with special needs and Felix always loved going to church there. They were so gentle with Lars when he would struggle emotionally. Mills has been going there since before he was even born. My life as a Christian was really molded there. Our life as a family.
It felt so good to be back at Woodland Hills. The sermon was on Romans 8:28 and about dealing with difficult people in a loving way. It was so timely. I left feeling so full. I have cried so many times before in that parking lot and it was never good, but I was crying tears of joy today.
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