The last four days of my amazing Tennessee adventure went by too quickly. I listened to five year old little girl stories and songs, tried to convince a three year old little boy to talk to me and held the most adorable one year old boy as often as he would let me. When Rachel told me her kids were cute, I thought perhaps she was just one of those mom’s… but nope, they really are very, very cute and sweet.
We spent countless hours in Rachel’s living room, watching a movie, listening to music and basically taking advantage of every moment we had together. Because really… when would we be able to hang out like that again? It was unbelievable that we got to meet in person anyway.
The day before I left, Rachel and I went hiking at Frozen Head State Park. I loved having an excuse to wear my trail runners, my Camelbak and my new hiking pants. Even better, I was hiking with someone just as short as me… so I didn’t have to run to keep up.
After Rachel dropped me off at the airport, I flew to OKC then drove to Mom and Dad’s. I’m sure my family got tired of me talking about my new friend for the next week. But really, they were probably just jealous they didn’t get to go on such an amazing adventure.
Rachel is a ton of fun to talk to, she’s hilarious and insightful. She has the amazing talent of making it seem OK to be who I really am… while challenging me to be something greater.
The entire week gave me great hope. Hope for myself and hope for the Church. Here we were, a pentecostal preacher lady and an Independent Fundamental Baptist preacher’s wife. In case you’re not familiar with the denominational differences… those two don’t tend to mix much. But we connected. Despite our theological differences, we met in Christ’s name and He joined us. You see, Jesus promised to do that. In Matthew 18:20 He says, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.â€
He was with us all week and I’m thankful for that. But it makes me wonder… how many opportunities have I wasted in the past? How many times have I had coffee with a friend but not really been with them? How many times have I shared lunch with a fellow believer but not shared my life? We should be more intentional. If we gather in His name… He WILL join us… and He, my friends, is worth inviting.
