Shelter From The Storm

We have been given shelter from this storm in so many ways. Although we are taking advantage of the offer to stay in this wonderful home this week, it's not the first home offered. Many have offered their homes to us as they have taken different trips. This has just been the first time that we have been able to take somebody up on it. And of course, my parents have offered us shelter. My sister, Donna, lets us take refuge at her house for dinner several times a week. The shelter that I have found comfort in lately has been my church. Anyone can tell you that I have not been the most dedicated when it comes to church attendance. My Sunday School class has been ministering to us long before the flood even thought about entering my home, and they are still at it!
The shelter I have found at church has been normalcy. Friends that smile and talk about other things. The continuity of worshipping on Sunday morning has been important. I realized this today, when we missed worship for a 2nd Sunday in a row. I don't feel like I have to give excuses, but last week Jennifer landed in Nashville during church, and this week Ashton was sick. Still, I felt a longing to be there. Sitting where my family has been sitting since I was 7. (Baptists are very territorial about their Sunday seating, but they'd never admit it.) The Pastors have changed, the worship service has changed, the hymns are not always the favorites from my childhood memories, and everyone will tell you, I do not like change. What hasn't changed is the sense of community. The smiling faces of friends that I have known for years, and new faces that I feel as if I have known for years. These are people I love, and people who love me. Love has become my shelter from this storm.
As we set up for Vacation Bible School today, I was so grateful to be doing something normal. Something that kept me busy and that was familiar to me. I loved talking with other moms about teenage girls, laughing with the youth who were helping Donna and me blow up the inflatable solar system. Sweet Grover Baker was a saint, standing in a folding chair to help us get the lines strung across the ceiling to hang the planets from. We popped in and out of each other's spaces, complimenting the creativity of others. Joyce Peterson was a doll to check on my sick daughter and come find me. This is normal. We weren't victims or refugees or survivors. This is what we do in the summer.
Amazingly, today, it wasn't love that people felt for me that bolstered my spirits. It was the love I felt for them. I love everybody I saw today, and it feels so good to love other people! Instead of being annoyed, I felt warmed by the quirks and personalities of these dear people. Name anybody who crossed my path today, and I can tell you what I love about them! I love my sister and my girls, and I love working with them on VBS! Shelter does not need to be a place, although I have plenty of places that have sheltered me recently. Shelter can be a feeling.
So I guess I am blessed. Blessed to have so many wonderful people to love!