Friday 28th March

I realised yesterday that I have over fifty people on my Facebook friends list who are church friends from my Edinburgh days.  I left Edinburgh 14 years ago.  So thats not bad is it?  To still be in touch with fifty people many of whom I havent seen for a very long time and with whom the sole bond and connection was time spent together in church.

They were formative years for me those ECF ( Edinburgh City Fellowship) days.  I arrived as a 23 year old student and left as a 34 year old Social Worker.  I arrived as an enthusiastic but rather wild christian and left with really solid foundations of great Biblical teaching, discipleship, pastoral input and training in the prophetic.   Of course like many who leave ' home' you dont really appreciate what you have had until you dont have it any more!  I think I just assumed that all churches would be like ECF and I would make friends in other places like the ones I made there.   But of course that didnt turn out to be the case.

The people in ECF were with me through the best and worst years of my life.  They were with me as I graduated and found my first job ( in fact my first job was working for the church so they employed me and paid me for two and a half years!!)  They witnessed me buying my first house - quite a few of them helped me move in and attended parties and came for dinner there.  One in particular shared my home for quite a few years and became my bestest best buddy.   Those people prayed for me every week, housegrouped with me, went on mission trips to Poland several times with me.  We attended conferences together and saw God do mighty mighty things.   We were worship team together.  We were drama team together.  We even danced together :-)   SO many memories - and of course nothing which came after that could ever plumb those depths.  You cant go back to the good old days.  All you can do is build on them

We all have foundations.  There are significant people who God brings into our lives who help to nurture and form us into the people we are destined to become.  They are a huge blessing to us and the hope is that we in turn can be that sort of person in someone elses journey too.   So today let us give thanks for those who have stood with us on the road. Those who prayed for us, listened to us, steered us right and maybe
spoke the truth when we didnt want to hear it. Lets give thanks for the teaching we have had and the love which has kept us sane and safe.  For those to whom we have been able to pour out our hearts safe in the knowledge that we are not judged or condemned.   And lets be thankful for the internet which allows us to track down and keep up with those people years later.

Lord I thank you for all the people who have played a part in making me the person I am today.  I have such a long way to go, but I have also come a very long way and I am deeply thankful.  Your church is indeed a family - a wonderfully rich and diverse one where everyone can find a place and all our gifts and talents can be honed and used.  I pray for those who today are feeling that they dont belong and havent found their place.  Bring them into close fellowship with like minded people who will love and stand with them.  Help us all to be givers as well as takers and to build into the next generation of church so that in days to come people will know we are Christians because of our love for one another and for You   Amen