Journey and God's Covenant Family

Two little girls opened wide the front door and warmly welcomed us to Journey, one of our church's means of making a big church small. Noise and chaos filled the house along with scents of comfort foods shared at the potluck supper. Children were everywhere!

The Journey leader gathered adults and children into the family room. Though we like to say there's always room for one more, well, there wasn't a chair or much floor space left. Our host explained that we would sing a few songs, take turns reading a Psalm and then the children would leave for their special worship time while the adults discussed the morning message. Some of the children immediately waved their hands, hoping to be chosen to read one verse of the Psalm. As we turned in our Bibles, the leader encouraged us to be ready to thank God for one blessing as we prayed sentence prayers after the Psalm reading. Emotion welled up inside of me as I listened to the children read, some experienced readers and some bravely trying out their new reading skills. And then the prayers - one right after the other from the mouths of these precious children: Thank you God for my Sunday School teachers; thank you for dying on the cross; thank you for being with us. . . Then two adults took over twenty-five children into another room to share Bible truths with them. As the adults discussed the morning message, there was little noise coming from the children's room. These parents are doing something right in teaching their kids how to respond to such teaching moments.

Journey gathering reminded me of the promise God made to Abraham so many years ago. Chuck often says that God took this elderly, childless man for a walk under the stars. He pointed out the vast universe and proclaimed that one day Abraham's family would outnumber the stars in the sky. As if that wasn't enough, God pointed to the sand on the beach and exclaimed that Abraham's family would outnumber the grains of sand. It's hard to get our hands around these numbers but every time the children of God gather, it's fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham. God continues to keep that promise and last night Chuck and I had the privilege of seeing the physical evidence in our own little world once more.

Oh, these precious, precious children. The memories they are building as they gather each week with their extended covenant family will sear into their hearts a sense of belonging and family that we hope will keep drawing them back to their spiritual legacy. They may not remember all the Bible stories or verses that their parents use in the children's worship time. But God is using all their senses to imprint the value of their spiritual family on their little hearts. I believe many of them will embrace such covenant family time as non-negotiable, as important in their lives as eating.

This week I carry the picture of little girls and boys experiencing grace as covenant families gather with hopes of being equipped, energized and encouraged for their own life journeys. What I experienced encourages me to keep on keeping on. I'm looking forward to Journey next week. How about you? Where is your Journey taking you?

In His Grip,
Sharon