testimonials

   Events that change our lives.  We all have them.  The birth of a child, a marriage, a new job, a new used shirt or pair of pants, a bowl of soup or peanut butter and jelly sandwich… were we on the receiving end of these gifts or the giver of these gifts?

   I have been so very blessed in my life.  For me, one of these life changing events was finding The Way.  Be Real.  Be Deep.  Be Connected.  Be Living Sacrifices.  Be the Body of Christ.  These are our community values, the gifts we are given by God and strive to share with His people and the world daily.  I found God again in these four walls when he gave me another family at The Way.  Through His gifts given to this incredible bunch of people, I was led to another of my life changing events by attending a Christian leadership development retreat called The Walk to Emmaus.

   Me?  A Christian leader?  “I grew up in the church, so I know I’m a Christian, but a leader?  I’m nobody.  I’m not worthy of leading people.”  I grew up in a church, yes.  But it wasn’t until recently that Christian was defined for me.  Taking Him into your heart is an essential first step, but it doesn’t stop there.  Christianity is not a membership to a Sunday social.  Christianity is living.  Being a Christian means being Christ right here on Earth.  The Way has taught me how to open my eyes and ears and view God in so many more than just the traditional ways.  I see Him in nature, I feel Him in song, and I hear Him in the laughter of a child.  My journey began right here at Northway.  The leadership and blessings given to, as well as given by, this church are phenomenal.  I had seen a labyrinth before, even walked one, but it was here that I actually experienced one.  At first glance, a maze – confusing and twisted with so many options for which direction to take.  That’s not the case at all – it is a simple path with one way in and one way out, taking it’s traveler from the world to the heart of God and back.  It’s here that I was told to find my voice.  At the New Year, the church hosted a Mikvah, or cleansing.  While in my Mikvah bath, the sun shown through the red stained glass of the sanctuary and God showed me my hands.  The shadow on the cleansing pool floor was duplication of my own hands.  “I can build a house, paint a picture, play the piano, hold a hand or serve communion.  I can do anything with these hands.” 

   While on my Walk to Emmaus, 72 hours of Being with Christ, I saw God again.  He was a beautiful young woman with brown curly hair and glasses.  He was an animated black woman radiating passion and love.  He was a man that found his way back from a gambling addiction.  He had so many faces and numerous hands, all there to serve.  That’s what they do.  Five clergy and ten lay people gave of themselves through speech sharing their experience, faults, and lessons learned – they put God in mind.  Other countless numbers of unseen servants whether making your bed, leaving little gifts of love wherever you go, or replenishing the overflowing table of food and snacks – put God in body.  All of them showing God through the sacrifice of themselves leaving their families, hectic schedules, and the “have to-do’s” of life.  Now it’s my turn.  I’ve seen God in mind and in body, but it’s up to me to be and reveal His spirit.  I found out that it’s ok that I’m not blessed with the gift of words like the speakers.  It’s ok that I might be afraid of some things right now.  It’s a process – a journey. 

   In one of the speeches of the weekend, we talked about how some people are gifted with the ability to sow seeds, some people are gifted in watering, some in weeding, fertilizing, or maintaining, but we all harvest.  As a singer, my voice is a huge part of my life.  Through The Way, I learned about myself.  I learned that I need to find my voice – my singing voice, my business voice, my political voice, my spiritual voice… I have to find my voice so that I can speak for those who can’t speak for themselves.  Through The Walk to Emmaus, I learned that action is one of the loudest ways to speak God’s word.  Experiencing both The Way and The Walk to Emmaus in my life – I believe I’m finding my voice.

-Chrissy