A Shared Longing!

I met a lady yesterday who has been coming to CCC less than two months. She shared how she found us and how much the church means to her. Then she said: "these last few weeks have been tough [with the church not meeting]. It was a strange feeling. It is the first time in my life I can remember really missing [longing to attend] church."

There was something special about our worship yesterday. The band was great. The message was incredible, as usual :-). The potluck was awesome. But there was an energy that none of those things could account for; an energy comes from a shared longing to be together. Maybe that feeling caught you a little by surprise too.

It is the feeling of a husband who sees his wife of 30 years like it was their first date and realizes, in that instant, she still takes his breath away. Sometimes the day-to-day challenges of being married can blind our eyes to some incredible blessings at are right in front of us every day.

Community is a unique place. There is something special that happens when we gather. We are blessed to be part of a spiritual family that enriches our lives. The irony is that sometimes newcomers are quicker to sense it than we are. It shouldn't take a band to come in and experience our worship for the first time to say: "This is a GREAT church" or a newcomer's story to alert us to the blessings that abound among us. We shouldn't have to be snowbound for three weeks to realize what we mean to each other...but it doesn't hurt. I'm grateful for God's reminders.