This past Sunday afternoon while on a leisurely drive with my husband, I thought we had found a gold mine when we saw this old church. My husband started down a road that didn't seem to have any possibilities but we hadn't gone a half mile when we spotted her--the old ship of Zion.
I was instantly taken back to the mid-twentieth century and days of my childhood church. This looks almost exactly like my old church except this one is about twice as wide and we didn't have the steeple box up on top--maybe a really small one--it is hard to remember some of the architectural details.
I was not tall enough to see inside but held my camera up to the window to get a picture of the inside. You can see the reflection of my sunglasses in lower right section of picture.
When I reviewed the picture on the LCD screen, you can imagine my utter joy when I saw the old pot-bellied stove. So many memories--so much the same--except we did not have pews nearly this nice. Ours were made out of wooden slats and had quite a bit of space between each slat--any extra flesh would kinda get caught in betwixt and between those slats and actually could be very painful after an hour-long sermon.
I'm almost glad I could not get inside to take pictures--I love the reflection of the outside with the furnishings of the inside--it seems to indicate passage of time, maybe days, maybe weeks, maybe years, maybe lifetimes--
Won't you just imagine with me for a moment what it must have been like to worship in this old church. Wonder who played the guitar, the piano, the mandolin, the auto-harp, the fiddle or the tambourines. Wonder what the men wore, did the women have high-topped shoes, what were the children dressed in? Were there pallets made on the floor for the little ones to sleep on? Wonder if they reserved the seats closest to the old pot-bellied stove for the little children and older members.
Just for a moment, let my mind reflect Lord--but only for a moment--because life is for the living, for the here and now, I need to be present in the moment--make each one of them count for eternity.
But oh, Lord, how I thank you for stumbling upon this old church--for the memories, for those gone before who paved the way for us, for all the prayers of all the dear saints who darkened these church doors. My heart sings, Father, as I think of the heritage that was forged between these old walls by men and women who lived such simple lives but lived them with dignity, peace and love.
Oh, Lord, we are so much more "sophisticated" now--whatever that means--but won't you please send an old-fashioned revival to our land, another Great Awakening. We need you so desperately, Dear Father. We don't even realize how desperate we are for you--please come and fill us to overflowing once again. How you will do it, I have no clue. The message will be the same but the method is sure to be different in this "different" world that we live it. But we trust you, God, to meet each of us, right where we are. Touch us with the power of your Holy Spirit. We long to worship you in spirit and in truth.
The old ship of Zion--
she may waver, she may falter at times on an unsteady sea-- but she will prevail.
she may waver, she may falter at times on an unsteady sea-- but she will prevail.
2010-the Year of Longings
He longs to find those who are truly seeking for a spiritual awakening.
I long to long for Him more fervently.
I am linking to Spiritual Sundays, an inspirational place to gather and worship.
