Churches are made up of friends that you once didn’t know that suddenly become precious.
This past Sunday, Bryan Lamb shared his story about coming to Christ & later coming to Trinity Grace & finding it to be home for his family. We are so grateful for Bryan, Heather, & their girls (pictured below!). And we are grateful to be in community with them—where we can laugh, cry, pray, & walk together.
My life before submitting to Christ was a life marked by prideful arrogance and self-reliance. My identity was found in my work, my hobbies, and my family. I grew up in a home where we only sporadically attended Church and an “all roads lead to the same place” kind of spiritual philosophy took root. I would have told you that I believed in God, but it was a simple intellectual acknowledgement of the existence of God, not saving faith in the Person of Jesus Christ.
We are made to worship. We are made to place a deep faith in someone or something. For much of my life, my faith was in my own abilities. I had a good job. I was in management and was bright and motivated. My career looked to only be heading upward. My family was very close-knit and I felt that things would continue on the way they always had. These were all good things. But they were things that kept a barrier between me and Christ.
I eventually became so burnt out and stressed by my job that I couldn’t handle the pressure anymore and quit. One of the pillars that I had built my identity on crumbled. At the same time, it was found that my younger sister, who had special needs and required intense care by my parents all of her life, had terminal cancer. The bubble of safety that surrounded my family was burst and the last pillar that I had built my identity on came crumbling down.
I was forced to ask myself what I really believed in. Where could I put my trust and faith and know that that faith and trust was deserved? What foundation could I build on that would be eternal and not crumble under time and adversity? Heather and I began attending a small Bible Study in Cleveland. I learned a great deal about the Gospel during that time and eventually committed myself as a follower of Jesus Christ. I would find my identity in him. Unfortunately, for many years after that, we searched for a community of committed followers of Jesus to do life with. We attended many churches over the years, but never found a true community.
We attended the first service of Trinity Grace here in Athens last October and were immediately greeted warmly and welcomed as though we had always been here. It was clear right away that this was a special group of people who genuinely and faithfully seek after Christ. This has become our home. It is a blessing and a pure joy. I am thankful beyond words to God the Father and our Lord Jesus for redeeming me and giving me an identity in Christ that is so much more than can be built on any worldly foundation. And I thank God for bringing us here to a community that we can laugh, cry, pray, and walk through life with.
