My mother is catholic; my dad was an Anglican or what other
people call Protestant.
My mum being the dutiful Muganda woman raised us Anglicans;
children after all belong to a man in the African culture.
All of us loved church; it was the day we got to pull out our
pretty dresses rightfully called Sunday Best.
Right from the onset I ventured a lot in Church activities and was particularly
fond of Bible quiz competitions representing my parish at the National level.
Thanks to my early involvement in Sunday school I never have trouble finding
Bible books as I know a song to all 66 of them.
As soon as I could flap my wings I ventured into more of the
meaning of being a Christian and from the time I was a teenager identified myself as a born again Christian
and outside the school term started attending a Pentecostal Church.
For most of my Christian walk hence forth, I preached the only way to salvation
was not only through Jesus Christ, but Jesus plus going to a Pentecostal
Church.
Like fine old aged wine my perspective on things has changed
with age and as I have continued to walk with the Lord in His wisdom ,He
has revealed to me that Jesus and just Jesus is the way the truth and
life.(John 14:6)
The above was especially emphasized last year when my local
church did a series called Jesus plus nothing equals Everything.https://lifecentertacoma.simplecast.fm/163
I was also drawn to this church because it is all about people the emphasis
being on Jesus and call the congregation Jesus
people. The notion of religion ceases to exist when you worship here and
instead focus is on our relationship with Jesus Christ the author and finisher
of our salvation. The differences of Catholic vs Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Orthodox,
or however one chooses to worship cease to matter as long as Jesus is the
center.
As I came to the end of 2016, I was heavy laden, burnt out with
work and had a personal issue weighing me down. With no one to share with I was
particularly looking forward to going away to visit a friend down in the Land
of Lincoln.
Once there, with so much time on me to do nothing and a lot to
do it in, once the excitement had worn off in my quiet time I battled with the
conflict in my life and just as I was starting to accept that it was going to
shadow my time away, my host a devout catholic asked me to accompany her to a
church she had heard lots about. My initial instincts were like well well, will
do it for her as there is nothing there for me. On getting there, there was something
in the air that I usurped and completely opened my mind.
As I bore my heart to the Lord, there was the fresh revelation
that I am His child and can leave anything at His feet. The rebuttal I had had
subconsciously about the catholic faith or how God really didn't inhabit
there all vanished as he embraced me as He had so many other times
reassuring me He was there with me. I also had the special benefit of the
serenity of the place whose architecture was an expression of love and as I
digested it all I came to the revelation that even buildings are an act of
worship. As human beings we gift those we love if we can with houses
beautifully designed to show our love and right there in MaryTown;https://marytown.com/ I saw man's attempt to love back the creator
through a building dedicated to being open 24 hours a day and when I was able
to look past the building I found Him in
all His glory.
In that place the peace, joy, love and mercy of God was
multiplied unto me. Before the end of my trip I asked my friend if we could
visit that place again, and this time since I had come willingly and expectant
the Lord didn't disappoint me as this time I made meaning of the word
adoration, honoring the presence of my Savior, contemplating his awesomeness
and the mystery that He is while giving Him my all.
As I reached out for God and He for me, I came to the
realization that God in his Mightiness had never once faltered on who could be
His sons and daughters or where we could find Him but had simply offered us
Love through His son Jesus.
In light of the above discovery and the memories of how His
sweet presence had changed my story, I have purposed to deliberately switch off
the noise of the 21st Century for instance social media and instead use that
time to spend with God, to encourage myself, to let Him speak and motivate me
as I absorb the most cherished truth that I am not only His child but the
purpose that He came was to redeem us from the burden of the law so that we can
become sons and daughters.
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Wherever you are, may you find
yourself rejoicing as you purpose to let the fullness of His love manifest in
your life.
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