Homecoming Service Day 191

Mt Olivet United Methodist Church, in Warwick MD celebrated 156 year anniversary at a Homecoming Service on Sunday. Guess who delivered The Lord`s Message?(according to the bulletin)

Yours truly, you might be interested in why! Through out most of my adult life it would be very accurate to say, that I was unchurched, to say the least! I lived life believing that I was in control, rarely consulting God in prayer. I thank God that He used that divine baseball bat across my head to get my attention.

Nearly 50 years ago I attended that little church in downtown Warwick with our neighbors. I believe, that in that very church, as a young girl, when I sang the song "In the Garden"it had a profound effect on my soul. That song planted a seed of faith that has recently sprouted to life.

This past year I read the book, 24 Hours That Changed the World, it happened; as I read the Postscript: In The Garden John 20:11-16 Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been laying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, Rabbouni

Tears flowed from my eyes as I read these words and truly received the message. I now realized why I had such a soul wrenching connection to this song. Was It possible that 50 years ago, as I sang this song, that I had truly told Jesus, from my young heart how much I loved him and invited him into my life.

As a 9 year old had I experienced the true meaning of Jesus` life and amazing gift to mankind? As in John 19:41-24 John is alluding to another garden, the garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve disobeyed God and Paradise was lost, John wants us to understand that what happened at Eden was reversed at Calvary.

I thank God for His prevenient Grace through out the years and thanks to our neighbors, the Alfree`s that took me to that "Little Church in Warwick."

Proverb 22-6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. Amen!