Church has a good affect on my outlook on life. I have been attending worship in a faith community for over 52 years…out of a good and helpful habit. Becoming a christian and beginning my faith journey with other like-minded believers was a great booster shot for my youth. Faith as illustrated to me through church gave a lovely framework to my life. Rather than hearing simply negative or dull pronouncements regarding daily happenings…I became a part of a group of people that seemed unusually happy…in hard times. I had always enjoyed the story of Jesus…and loved reading the Bible Story Books at the doctors office and looking at the great illustrations. I also enjoyed watching the regular television shows regarding the christian faith, as a child. In those long ago and far away days the religious programs I am speaking of were not TV preachers…but rather solid family dramas with a good morale and workaday christian principles that the actors were portraying.

As the years have flown swiftly by I have noticed that church is a bit of an elixir for what ails me. If I am feeling a little at ends…church centers me. The practical principles of christianity is meant for all who want to avail themselves of its easily applied principles. The Bible says, ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16. NIV. There is no separation of people in Gods love.

Church provides context to the rollercoaster of life. Church provides protection for the afraid and healing for the abused and mistreated of our land. The people are the church. There is little that can compare with a group of loving and kind people that are attracted to each other by their shared journey through the dark roads and the sunlit beaches…the terrible storms and the pristine mountain tops…of our scary and comforting…tearful and laughing…hike back to our beginnings…our home…our reason for being a part of the human family…