A long time ago in the small country town of Gill, Colorado, my great -grand parents became believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. According to the stories passed down from my family members, the local Catholic priest came to their house weeping because in his eyes, they had left the faith. Not so padre! They were still very much a part of the faith and the local community. Just “holy-rollers”; “hallelujah’s”:).

My great- grandmother wrote scripts for their passion plays and plays about The Creation Story, she held services that displayed the message of the cross and the power of the resurrection. According to my mom, my great-grandmother typed all the scripts with one finger since she was not great at typing and because there was not a Kinko’s around during the early 1900’s.

Costumes were made, invitations went out to the other local churches, huge, glorious meals were planned for out of town guest and they were held in the basement of the church. My mom has always told me that my great-grandmother would begin practices for their Christmas pageant in September! She was determined to give the audience the best presentation of the message that changed her very own life.

And so, she did.

The whole church community came together to proclaim the Name of The Lord through the arts and through fellowship. I try hard to wrap my brain around all that it would have taken for a group of people to pull this off in a time when there wasn’t a local costume store or storage areas to build sets. Take into account the fact that there wasn’t a local Christian radio station like the ones we have now that can publicize the event or promote attending the little church. They did all of their own work for the benefit of others.

They rehearsed

They prepared

They fasted and prayed.

These are the people in which my roots of faith began.

This is where my story began to take shape.

Friend, my deep roots in faith didn’t just happen at a conference, or while visiting a friends’ church. My faith wasn’t started just because I took a few missions trips or joined an outreach team. I’ve experienced those events and my faith is richer because of them. But, my story of faith began in the prayers of my great-grandparents. Who in their small adobe house filled with a ton of family members, chose to follow The Lord with all their heart, soul, and mind. They chose to hold prayer meetings and host missionaries and welcome strangers in off the street for a meal. All that they had, they gladly shared with those in need. They chose to raise their grandchildren when my grandmother passed away. They chose to train up these children (my mom included), in the ways of the Lord and of His service to others. And in return, my mom did the same for my sister and I.

Many times, I think we forget to walk down memory lane; we forget how our story of life and faith began. We all may have even forgotten that we may be living the life we have now only because of the prayers that went up from others on our behalf years ago. Even in the times where we think we are walking aimlessly, there has always been a plan for our lives; there was always a dream of what God would do in us and through us. Whether those dreams were from family members or from friends- even strangers who never knew us personally yet still prayed for us, there has always been someone pleading on our behalf. I’ll even say this: maybe you’ve had painful experiences with the imperfect humans (people like me and you), in the church and walked away from relationships, God, faith, and church community -all of it -and made an inner vow not to let is happen again. I’m sorry if that was you’re experience, but it doesn’t have to be the ending to your story.You can find peace even now. Don’t let hurt, bitterness, offense, or unforgiveness win- you’ve got so much hope and love still within you friend. Inner vows don’t have to rule our lives. We can walk through forgiveness  and freedom together.

Now back to memory lane…

I’m a firm believer that even some of the miracles that we experience in our own lives now are because of fervent prayers from people who long ago pleaded to God for our needs in advance. We are living the answers to their prayers. We can choose to be the living answer to another person’s plea.

Fast forward…

I was created to write.

This gift has been entrusted to me.

I want to utilize this gift the way it was intended- for God’s glory.

I can’t help but think that my roots in writing began with the tapping of my great-grandmother’s fingers as she typed up scripts for the church members. Perhaps she was praying that one of her kids would have a passion for the arts or for writing and proclaiming the good news of the gospel. I can’t say; I only remember meeting her once when I was really little. Though I didn’t get the chance to ask her about it, I am sure that the importance of writing was passed down through her prayers and through the example of my mom.

She writes recipes (she is an AMAZING baker).

She writes songs.

She writes sermons.

She writes ideas that come to her while reads her bible and drinks a cup of coffee with the cinnamon flavor in the grounds. Sometimes with a can of soda next to said coffee mug. She enjoys caffeine just like you and me:)

She writes.

I write.

My roots stem back to a small country town. I’m sad to say the church there had to close its doors, but the stories of faith still live on in the memories of the family.

Today, or even this weekend, let’s take time to see where our roots really stem from. Whether you grew up in church, or have never graced the door of one, think back to where your life story began. Think about those who believed in you before you existed. Think about those who prayed for you before you needed those prayers. Over the next few months, I want us all to think about the importance of our roots (our foundations, beliefs, core values).

Your story begins somewhere.

Your roots are either in the beginning stages of growing, or they spread out

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and

w-i-d-e.

Your roots matter; your life depends on them.

Let’s discover our stories together friend. Let’s share them to inspire others to do the same.

I’ve told you part of my story, I’d love to hear yours…

peace-liz

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:7 NIV