I did not always pursue Jesus. There was a time in my life when I did not even KNOW of him.
I look back now on my life and I am OVERWHELMED with awe at HIS pursuit of ME!
Though my parents had both been to church in their youth, when they were having their family (I am the oldest) they did not belong to a church or take me to church.
The first person who took me to church was my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Edith Phillips. Out of all the children in her class, God led her to me. She asked me if I'd like to go to church with her and I said yes. My parents said yes. Every Sunday morning she was faithful to come by my house and pick me up and take me to church with her.
We attended the First Missionary Baptist church on Hillside Road. She took me to Sunday school where I can remember sitting with other children and learning about Jesus and God. I remember the pages I was given; the stories that were told and I began to understand that there was a God who loved me and I was his little girl.
All school year I went with Mrs. Phillips. I sat in big church next to her and listened to the singing and the preaching. I remember looking at the wood board on the side of the wall that had all the numbers listed of those in attendance. I never realized how much a part of my life church and learning of who I was to God would become.
That school year of 1966-67 ended and we all broke for summer. I did not attend church with Mrs. Phillips. In early September we walked down to Bidwell Elementary and went to the windows of all the first grade classrooms to find my name. Lo and behold we were pleased to find that Mrs. Edith Phillips had become a first grade teacher and I - Dori Albright - was at the top of her class roster!
As you may have guessed, I was asked again by my teacher if I'd like to go to church with her again. And again I did - for the whole year. I wish I could say that she then became my second grade teacher, but she did not. However, the seeds that had been planted within my heart were watered and protected. All because of Mrs. Edith Phillips.
A few years later in my fifth and sixth grade years, a little girl named Susie Turner took me to the same church with her off and on and again I learned more about the love of Jesus and God. During those visits my seedlings of knowledge were watered, weeded and tended to as the little seedlings grew.
I remember that during my difficult adolescence I believed in God. I knew he was there and as my journals attest, I was always mindful of him and cried out to him. I also prayed to him continuously.
I did not come to know the Lord on my own until I was 19 years old. My siblings had become believers and pursued me vigorously. That time of my life was a sad one as I'd lost my grandparents and life felt somehow pointless. That feeling had me looking for God. In the spring of 1980 I made a deal with my sib's....I'll go one time but you will promise to leave me alone after that. They agreed.
On the chosen morning both of them were sick and with a boldness that was not normal I decided "lets get this over with!". So I went alone. I remember sitting in the back pew in between strangers. The pastor was hipper than I remembered any pastor being allowed to be. He had longer hair and was wearing a 3 piece yellow suit! COOL!
I loved the worship. I listened intently to the sermon. As the service was closing an electric feeling silence fell upon the sanctuary that was new for me. Everyone seemed eager and anxious. Suddenly a man began to speak in a foreign language. Something deep within me moved and responded and I did not understand it at all. When his voice trailed off the room was filled with a pregnant silence. Another man's voice raised and interpreted what the message of tongues had been. I do not remember the full message but this much I have never forgotten..... "to the one who has been looking for me and searching. I am he and I can be found...." My heart was doing flip flops and I knew he was talking about me! I knew and God knew I had been searching for him in a way I did not know at the time. That morning as I wept, I gave my heart to him and life changed forever.
As I sit here today, thirty plus years after this experience I am aware of those towering oaks of faith in my heart. I am mindful of their stature. I am mindful of the fruit they bear. I am mindful of the storms they have survived and how deep the roots are because of the storms. But you know what I am most mindful of today? The precious one who planted the seeds in the first place. Mrs. Edith Phillips.
Today it would be impossible for a teacher to invite a student to go to church with her. My how times have changed. And this question bears asking.... if teachers can no longer invite little one's to go and hear about how Jesus loves them who can? Who will plant the seeds?
We live in a world today filled with natural disasters, atrocities and terror we never dealt with when I was a child in the 1960's. I never remember feeling frightened for my life or hopeless. But today is a different world we live in. So much has changed, but one thing has stayed the same. Jesus. He is the hope for the hopeless. He bestows value upon those who will hear. He is the anchor.
Mrs. Phillips was a grandmother. She had her own children and grandchildren and I am sure nieces and nephews too. But there was room for one more. She saw the value in planting seeds in the heart of a little girl. She has been long gone but her gift remains inside of me. Because of her planting.... the oaks that have grown within me have given life to others. Those oaks of faith have given shelter to me and my own family. It's fitting that despite having my own children and nieces and nephews I've always found room "for one more". My prayer is that I will always have room for just one more' and will never lose the understanding of the importance of planting seeds in those whose hearts are ready.
So I challenge you. Is there room for one more under the shade of the big oak? Can you spare the time to plant, weed and water a seedling in the heart of another? Go ahead...go and get your hands dirty. Go ahead. Go dig in the dirt and plant the seeds that keep on giving unto eternity.
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