She Was Pregnant and Said We Will Go To Church!

Before Carri and I married, we did stray away from the church. Part of it was school and part of it was lack of motivation. Carri was in RN school and I was in paramedic school. We were busy. Honestly, we were not living the best of lives either. I still did not have a healthy respect for God’s word or His church. My language was not the best, and neither was my perspective on who Christ really was. We had become what the Bible describes as luke warm. We were neither hot nor cold; we were just doing our thing. I was pretty much clueless.

Three months after Carri and I had been married we discovered we were going to have a baby. We were very excited! Bringing a child into this world has a way of changing the way you look at things and view life. You are no longer responsible for just yourself; you are now responsible for the innocent life of an unborn child. When that child enters this world, it is your responsibility to raise and nurture them. A parent’s greatest desire is to have a healthy baby that grows into a successful adult. Have you ever heard a parent express desire to have a sick baby, and hope that they will grow and become a failure in life? Of course not.

After the initial shock and excitement was over, Carri decided we needed to take a closer look at our spiritual life. At this point in my life I did not care much about spiritual stuff. Besides I got what I wanted, I was married to the girl of my dreams. Out of respect for my wife, I listened and did not argue. Here is what she said: “This child is God’s gift to us and we will raise this child as His. We will go to church.” No problem with me in that statement, going to church got me what I wanted. I wanted Carri, I went to church, and I got Carri. So yea, going to church and raising our child in church could not be a bad thing.

Now it was time to get serious and do what was right. We wanted to give our child the best chance she could have in life. Having God on your side was a good thing. So obviously in my mind going to church was a great way to do that, especially on Christmas and Easter. I was sure that is when He paid the most attention to who was actually in church. Well guess what? Carri meant every Sunday. She got out a phone book, twirled her finger around with her eyes closed and randomly chose a church. Her finger landed on “The Church of The Cross, in Coral Springs Florida”. This Church just happened to be 2 blocks from our home.

Within a few short weeks of attending church, an older couple introduced themselves to us. Larry and Susan were their names. They were such an amazing couple. When they introduced themselves to us Larry simply stated, “We just want to be here for you guys, if you ever need anything we want to help”. Larry and Susan took us in as their kids kind of. They would pray with us, offer us advice when we asked, and they even spent time with us. Frequently we went to their home for dinner and just a friendly visits.

I remember so clearly one day, Larry said to me, “Bill you are going to make a good deacon someday.” I had no idea what he meant, but I had this vision of me wearing a religious gown with royal colors holding a candle on a stick and chanting religious chants. I thought to myself, “OK, I think not. If Larry only knew who I really was”. I ‘m pretty sure I just smiled and said thanks Larry. What I did not know at that time is that God was about to use Larry to open my eyes to who He really was.

As I close this story, I want to leave you with some advice. Get in a Church where God’s true word is preached. There you will find encouragement, inspiration, God’s presence, and God’s people. I’m not just talking about any church; I’m talking about God’s church. You will recognize it by the affirmation you feel within your heart. You will know it is the right place, because you will know in your heart, “This is where I belong.” I knew it, the first time we attended the Church of the Cross. We were welcomed and accepted immediately without hesitation, and we felt God’s word speaking to our hearts as it was being preached. That feeling I got when I first met Carri, and that feeling I got the first time I went to a Christian church, well it was back and it was even more powerful than before. Do you want to offer the best for your family, then get God involved.

Raising our children in church was the best thing we ever did for them. Not only did we become grounded in our faith, so did our children as well. All four of our kids had drug problems, we drug everyone of them to church their entire lives. Even when they did not want to be there. Ask them and they will tell you they were glad we did it.

The picture is of a night time revival in Nicaragua during one of our many mission trips.

Hebrews 10:25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

May my life be the proof and evidence of Christ love!