"...God was telling me to say PIE!"

Saturday afternoon I got an email from our church listserve explaining the unique format for the service on Sunday. In place of a sermon they were having an open mic session where anyone could share how God touched their heart in 2010. They offered five questions to guide the discussion: 

         

* How did God show up in your life this year?

* How did you grow this year?

* What are you thankful for?

* How did you experience Christian community?

* What adventure did God take you on?

When I read that you could also e-mail your story, I felt compelled to share. Little did I know that MY email would end up being read aloud by our pastor to the entire congregation to kick off the open mic session. I'm sure everyone around us knew we wrote it because Justin and I could NOT stop laughing!! Here is what I wrote (or what Michael read, anyway):

When I first read the suggested questions in this email I had to laugh a little. How can I briefly answer the question "how did God show up in my life this year", when God was in every single moment of our giant, crazy adventure of 2010? 

In January I was engaged and living at home with my parents in Houston, Texas. I was 21 and had just graduated from Texas A&M University. My fiance Justin, 22, was also living with his parents, 3 miles away, and wrapping up his last semester at the University of Houston.

In April we came to Norfolk to look for our first home together. We only had one weekend to find somewhere, with no time or money to make a return trip before our wedding and our 1500 mile move.

In May life really got crazy. Justin graduated from college. The same day he was commissioned as an officer in the Navy. One week later we were saying "I do" and off to our honeymoon, a one-week, much needed vacation in Mexico. Five days after we returned, we packed up our cars and a u-haul and moved 1500 miles away from everything we ever knew to start our new life together in a town where we knew no one.

On Halloween, we tried a new church. We had bounced around since we arrived in Norfolk in June, but nothing felt like the church we had grown up in. As soon as we entered this church, we knew it was different. The people were friendly and eager to help us find a place to get involved. There were Sunday School classes, and missions opportunities, and all the things we had been looking for. Something just felt like home here. And then Michael talked about pie. Being huge food enthusiasts, we took it as that final nudge from God that yes, we were home. Call us crazy but sometimes it's those little details that stand out. We joined a few Sundays later, and we couldn't wait to bring my in-laws along when they visited us at Thanksgiving. If you hadn't guessed, the church was Spring Branch.

Michael finished reading our story and half-yelled "and you all thought I was just going on and on about this delicious pie, but really...God was telling me to say PIE!!" Everyone was laughing. Justin and I took the opportunity to introduce ourselves to him after the service and I'm really glad we did. He's a great pastor and we're looking forward to getting to know him better.