book induced memories

I always have to be reading a book. It is one of my favorite past times and I will read just about anything. My mom gave me a book that she and her best friend read and I have had it for years. I started it a couple times but couldn't really get into it. I picked it up a couple days ago and started reading it again only because I didn't have anything else to read. It isn't a book that I would normally read and enjoy, but it is okay for now. I am only a couple chapters in and the only reason I am enjoying it is the memories it invokes of my childhood church.

I grew up in the best church ever. I know, a lot of people say that, but this is the truth. Our church was a family. A true family. We spent a lot of time with each other inside the church walls and out. I miss the people who watched me grow up. I was confident with them. I was myself with them. I was loved by them. I will run into them now and I have nothing but amazing memories and we retell stories from the past...reminiscing about my childhood and catching up on our lives now. They really are my favorite people. Awesome memories.

It is so sad to me when I think about the shrinking of my home church. There were so many reasons to move on and out. There was so much heartache to leave a building I loved and knew like the back of my hand. It was unbearable to think about my life without those people in it. I saw them at least twice a week until I was 25. I will watch my wedding video just to see most of them sitting in the pews while they wait for Chad and I to dismiss them from the ceremony. Seeing the ones who have died, the ones who are now divorced, and to see the ones that I haven't seen since that day.

It is an amazing part of my history that I wish I could visit again just once. To have all my favorites at a rally day picnic or for a Christmas Eve service or serving them all Easter breakfast would be unbelievable. I would love to go back to that building to walk around and find all the nooks and crannies that led to other parts of the building. It was a fantastic place to play hide and seek. The boiler room was creepy but had a secret stair case that led to the church office. There was a room off of the boiler room that had all kinds of old tools. There was a secret passageway from the lectern to the fellowship hall. It was a blast to run around!

There aren't many left at my old church. In fact, I am shocked it still exists. I think they average about 25-30 a Sunday, mostly elderly. They have 3 other churches using that big, beautiful building. I am glad it is being put to good use. But sad that it isn't how it used to be.