One church responded and told us their situation, Northridge Baptist Church. From that point it has been a beautiful experience of watching God save and restore His church. Many prayers were answered. Among them was finding a Worship Director to help lead on Sunday mornings.

The story of the woman at the well in John 4 is familiar to us, and we can pull lessons about grace, our posture toward the marginalized, and our own need for the gospel through Christ’s “living water” metaphor. All valuable lessons to learn, and of which to be regularly reminded, but that isn’t where John ends this story.

…when the parents of one of our young ladies were standing in our home saying these words to us, my wife and I didn’t know how to respond. “Thank you for looking after our daughter.”

Jesus is the answer. We must behold Christ as supreme if we are going to overcome our addictions. As we behold Him in the first place, we are being transformed. As we behold Him and have the mind of Christ, He will help us see how to serve Him and serve others, taking the focus off of our self-comfort and self-pleasure.

“What surprised us was how welcoming everyone was our first Sunday. We then visited an MC for the first time and people were calling, texting, and inviting us to things. It felt like family.”

Even when you know the right answers in your head, your heart can’t quite believe the truth you’ve been taught. I’m convinced that one of the most beautiful aspects of our faith is that we get to remind each other of important truths we know but may have temporarily forgotten.

We cannot abandon truth in the name of grace and we cannot abandon grace in the name of truth. One leads to the self righteousness of the Pharisees while the other leads to a license which ultimately denies our great God and Savior.

What could it look like to these children, parents, and social workers who see the Church stepping in and loving and serving them unconditionally and sacrificially during what is likely the hardest, darkest, and lowest time of their life?

Recently I’ve been pondering this question for our Sunday morning gatherings? “Do I come to just spectate or do I participate?”

The Enemy would have you do anything but turn and run to the Father in these times, but I am convinced that God, in his divine grace, shows us through secular ways as well as Biblical that He desires us to come to him and seek refuge from the storm.

When I feel like a failure as a mom, I don’t have to wallow in shame. I also don’t have to dig in a try harder to be “enough.” I have to remember the gospel.

So, we will remember and proclaim that we can be with God forever by grace through trusting in His good work on our behalf – all because of what Jesus did (Ephesians 2:8). What can we do as God’s people to prepare for all of this?