Going Home

I have been asked to be a speaker at the Lake Shore Non Denominational Women’s Conference in October. It will be held in my home town, a place that I have not lived in since I was eighteen when I went away to college. When I left, I had just received the ignominious title of “Class Flirt” from my senior class mates. Now I will return …as a Bible teacher.

It is ironic for sure. But more than that, it is a remarkable statement of the power of God to transform lives. And so I will go. I am looking forward to having the time to simply drive up and down the streets of the town. It is a small town of only 9000 people but it sits on the shores of Lake Michigan and thus is a favorite resort area in the summer. Beautiful lakes, miles of sandy beaches and sand dunes, and lovely parks make it a perfect vacation spot. But for me it is simply “home”. Every block holds a memory and almost all of them are good ones. I can easily be transported back in time to the neighborhood friends that made every day an adventure. High School expanded those borders with a few hundred more friends added to the list. Summers were spent on the beach which had a huge break-wall where we would practice diving from about ten feet in the air. There was freedom. I would ride my bike out of our driveway in the morning and would return before dinner. The entire town was my playground and my bike was the best transportation in a town that has no hills.

The theme of the conference comes from John 14:27. “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid.” This is the perfect verse for me to speak on, for though this beautiful town holds so many wonderful memories for me, it also was the birthplace of fear. Childish pranks left an indelible wound in my soul. Fear followed me to college where a traumatic experience deepened the wound so much that I was hardly able to function. It pervaded my whole being and of course I took that into marriage and motherhood. Nothing healed the wound and courage was illusive until I was thirty two years old. The healer? Jesus Christ.

So I will return to the “birthplace” of fear. And I will return with a message. Jesus was not kidding when He said “I will give you peace”. As with everything Jesus said, it is the truth. He has proven it over and over again to me.

Now the challenge stands before me. Can I articulate the power of Christ in such a way that those in the audience can understand the gospel and embrace it with all that they have? I am not sure. But I do know Christ has promised the “Comforter” can and will speak through me. My job is to go. His job is to change lives. I will be in good company.

John 14:27

“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid.”