by Gayle Gernand as shared to Ella Reff
"You shall be my witnesses . . . . to the uttermost parts of the earth." Acts 1:8
As a young child I attended the Nazarene church in Yorktown. I recall sitting in small folding chairs singing “Jesus Loves Me” and “Deep and Wide” in the basement and going to Sunday School and VBS. One day one of the ladies there asked if I wanted to go to heaven. According to the story, I promptly said, “No, I want to stay with my mom.” My one year old baby brother, Jerry, passed away very unexpectedly from spinal meningitis. I knew first hand how sad we all were, and decided I was in no hurry to get to heaven.
When I was in the fourth grade several of my friends attended Yorktown Methodist Church, so we decided to give it a try. I enjoyed attending Sunday School and singing old time hymns in a house next door to the chapel while Cleo King (Ron King’s mother) played the piano. I even remember a bunny cake she made for each of the students in her class at Easter. I remember studying about missionaries in China.
During junior high I became very involved in MYF (Methodist Youth Fellowship) and began attending summer church camps. I made my first commitment to Jesus as my Savior during one of the stays at Camp Adventure. In high school I moved on to Epworth Forest, and loved every minute of camp, even washing dishes. It was so much more fun doing dishes with friends! The messages, the music, the inspiration, and the fellowship were critical to my spiritual development. I looked forward every year to these fun filled spiritual retreats. My soul craved these opportunities for spiritual renewal. I recall Earl Luke telling my good friend, Susan and me, that there were little eyes watching us and gently reminding us to be the best we could be.
Youth group began my involvement at YUMC, but it continued with lots of other activities. At times over the years, I would attend services at different churches, but I was always drawn back to YUMC. It was family. It was home.
A very difficult time for me was when my marriage failed, and ended in divorce. I was crushed beyond belief, but my church family kept praying for me and cheering me on. They put up with a few boyfriends I brought in, and they kept loving me as I found my footing. I recall the tremendous round of applause that burst forth in the sanctuary one Sunday almost five years later when Steve announced that he had asked me to remarry him, and that I had accepted.
I, like many of you, can come up with a memory to fill almost every square foot of our church. One of my favorite recollections is standing in the sanctuary singing and feeling the Holy Spirit pour over me and blessing my soul. I remember praying with a group of women for Pastor Jual Evans. We learned later that a kidney stone passed at that very same time. I cherish the feeling of peace found kneeling at the communion rails. I loved watching my children grow in their Christian faith and being baptized within these walls. I remember sharing a few sermons and children’s stories; that always made me nervous. However, it was one of the ways I was also challenged to grow. My most recent challenge is the newsletter.
Not all my memories are spiritual. I will never forget stomping out the flaming words to Silent Night when Erik accidentally caught his bulletin on fire during the Christmas Eve service one year. I recall trying to keep my mouth shut about the length of Tracey's dresses, remembering it was more important for her to be at church. I loved how little Ryan snuggled up to my cold arms and held them tight during the worship service. I am grateful that so many of my family members chose to worship at YUMC.
The scripture I would like to share and my prayer for you is Ephesians 3:14 - 19 (NLT): “When I think of the wisdom and scope of God’s plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand as all of God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life, and power that comes from God.”
I have changed my answer to the question in the opening paragraph. My mom and lots of loved ones are in heaven now, so my answer is: “Yes, I want to go to heaven, but I am in no hurry to get there.”
