"For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock."
Psalms 27:5
So yesterday I decided to venture over to a new church, a baptist church, Memorial Baptist Church to be exact. Let me tell you, this had to be one of the most amazing experiences ever. I truly enjoyed church yesterday. I was born and raised a Catholic. I was the child that was made to go to church every Sunday. I always understood there was the Holy Trinity and Heaven and Hell and believed in them but I never truly understood the Word. I mean what child does? Like any other practicing Catholic, I was baptized, had my first communion, and I completed my confirmation. I was a senior in high school when I made my confirmation. After that I went to college. College meant no momma to wake me up every Sunday to go to church. Again, I was never the good practicing Catholic. I believed but wasn't to keen on going to church. I was a freshman in college, only 18 years old and I was in a terrible car accident, March 2002. I walked away from that accident with just a bruise from the seatbelt. My car was completely totaled. If I showed you pictures, you wouldn't believe I walked away from that. At that point, I tried to change my ways, you know become a better person, quit living the so-called "fast life" as my Daddy always put it. Of course I was thankful and blessed to have made it out of that accident without hurting myself or anyone else. I thanked God for a second chance.
Not to long after, I was back to old my ways again. Living the fast life, thinking I was invisible and nothing could stop me or get in my way. January 31, 2007, I was in another terrible car accident. Again, car totaled, amazingly enough I walked away. This time I had some injuries - a sprained wrist, a twisted ankle, some cuts and lots and lots of bruises. I found it ironic that after being thrown and spun around in the car, the car stopped right in front of a church off 410. Hmmm, was someone trying to send me a sign? Not too long before that I was thinking to myself that I needed to make some major changes in my life. I needed to quit all the heavy partying, the heavy drinking, playing dudes, etc. The day of the accident, I had just passed my last licensing exam. My career was about to start and 8 hours later, it almost never did. God was truly trying to tell me something. I have put my poor guardian angel through hell since I was 16. Poor thing probably couldn't handle me anymore and was like, "God, seriously, she needs another wake up call. I'm puttin in some massive overtime here." Well this time I paid attention. I was given another chance. My luck, on the 3rd strike I'm always out. If I woulda kept going the way I was going, my 3rd strike would have ended in a deadly car accident. I have so much to live for and so much to do. I don't want to miss out on life. At this point, I saw that I needed to make my relationship with God stronger than it ever had been before. I was praying on a regular basis in private. I was at church every single Sunday engaged in the readings and trying to apply the Word to my everyday life. The first few months, it was like God was talking directly to me through the priest. I mean every single reading, every single lecture was directed towards me. God obviously saw that I needed guidance and that I truly wanted him to be a part of me and my #1 priority.
As the past couple of years went by I continued to maintain my faith and have a strong relationship with God. Over the past few months, it seems like I have fallen away from God. Not intentionally. I can't honestly explain why. I have the typical excuses on Sunday, "I'm tired. I don't feel good. I never get to sleep in. I'll go next week." If you really think about it, does He ever put us on the back burner? Sometimes, we may feel that he does but we just have to be patient. There is a reason why He may be taking a little bit longer to give you guidance or answer your prayers. I'm a strong believer in, "Everything happens for a reason." If we can spend an hour or a couple of hours shopping, at the club, at a bar, at dinner, at the movies, sittin on the couch watching TV, we can give God at least an hour of our time once a week. We need to quit with these excuses and be there for the person that will always be there for us.
Back to the baptist church experience. AMAZING! I mean things were different. I'm used to the structure of a Catholic church, you know, sit, kneel, stand, accept the Eucharist, the Nicene Creed, the Our Father. There is nothing wrong with that believe me. Here it was okay to speak out and show that the preacher was touching you with his sermon. People welcomed us like we were a part of their family. I know I was destined to go to that church yesterday. Again, the sermon was directed to me. Psalms 27:5. Like the preacher said, you need protection from life, people, even yourself. That right there hit the spot. I've just had so much on my mind that if I keep going the way I've been going I'm going to have a nervous breakdown. Sometimes, to avoid these feelings, I will turn to alcohol. That's where I need protection from, myself; I went to the front and testified. No one there was judging me. It was just people praying for me hoping that I find God and live the way He wants me to live. The choir sang beautifully and of course they were jammin out. For right now, I think I belong in the Baptist Church. I just feel I can relate to the teachings even more so. Of course, they read the scripture but the preacher applies it to our everyday lives and our everyday feelings. Now this doesn't mean I plan on converting from Catholic to Baptist. It doesn't matter what your religion as long as you believe in a higher power.
I do know He will always be there for me no matter what. Through good times and bad times. I just need to look to Him more often for guidance and blessings. I do want to walk the right path in life and that's the path God has set forth for me to walk.
P.S. Thank you all for reading. By no means am I trying to preach. I just wanted to share my experience and how I felt about my faith. If you want to join me at church one day, just let me know. They'll love to have you.
