Sunday 13 July 2014

God's song

In May, Dave and I travelled to Boston, Massachusetts, USA for a long weekend. For a few years now, we have heard God's call to us and have felt His nudges towards Boston. We rarely have spare cash, so we had asked God for the £1400 that we needed to pay for flights and expenses, and as is His way, we received an anonymous banker's draft for the exact amount, and so, we made our way over.

We loved Boston. We met with some quality church planters, chatted to local Bostonian shop keepers, wandered the streets, did the Freedom Trail, sat and prayed in Harvard Yard, ate Lobster Mac and Cheese, bought as many Boston Hoodies as we could, visited Fenway Park and walked down Yawkey Way, had a ride on the ferry, fantasised about living in the North End or the South End, indulged in beautiful cake and coffee at Thinking Cup and became hard core Red Sox and Celtics fans. Ultimately, the big thing that happened was that we fell in love. We fell in love with Boston. We are now pining for the far away city, that feels like our home. We can't wait for the time when we will visit again, and ultimately for the day when Boston becomes our actual home, our city, our very own. We can't wait to take our three children with us, to visit the city that we always talk about, and often dream about.

On the Sunday morning, we were dropped off in Back Bay. We wandered through to the South End, along the blossom tree-lined streets, listening to the birds singing, seeing dads and kids playing at the park, the beautiful tall town houses waking up all around us. As we walked towards Reality Church Boston, we agreed that it all felt very significant. We had been following the progress of Reality Boston's planting from the first announcement on Sunday 15th August 2011. It was the day before my birthday and Dave just mentioned that Reality Church, first birthed in California, was planting into Boston. We immediately began researching Boston, looking at property, search Google images for iconic Bostonian sights and felt a stirring. So began our Boston adventure. Everywhere we went, we saw Boston hoodies, caps and bags. Every conversation we had Boston, mission work and the USA seemed to come up. Our daughter had a dream that we were living in a blue and white house in Boston, and prophesies about us moving, taking risks and being obedient to God came flooding in.

When the Boston bombing took place at the Boston marathon on the 15th April in 2013, our hearts broke. We wanted to be there, to pray, to tidy up, to love people. We wanted to be part of the Boston Strong - those citizens of Boston who stood together. We wanted to be a part of Reality Church Boston and all that they would be doing in the aftermath.

So, as we walked along West Newton Street on that Sunday, expectant, full of wonder as to how it would feel, and whether it would be a special and significant time, I could feel the importance of what we were doing and what might happen.

Tiny things make a big difference, don't they? It's those tiny, apparently insignificant things that make our tummies turn, and our hearts sing. For me, it began with a big jug of Half-and-Half. I had searched for Half-and-Half all weekend. I wanted to try some in my coffee. I hadn't seen any...until we walked through the doors where Reality Boston meet. We were directed to a coffee point, with a big jug of Half-and-Half sat there - just for me. My heart sang.

The service was full. Full of our Father God. Full of Jesus. Full of the Holy Spirit. We worshipped together, led by a true worshipper, with a beautiful, soul-deep voice, accompanied by strings. It was Mother's Day in the US that day. All mothers were invited to stand, where we were prayed for and honoured. I felt empowered and ready to return to my precious babies, equipped by those prayers. We were read the word of God, and replied together with a "Thanks be to God". The sermon was like a full roast dinner, with all the trimmings, followed by rhubarb crumble and custard for pudding - satisfying, deep, juicy and delicious. After the sermon, we were called to worship our God again, take communion, kneel or lay down, or receive prayer from the ministry team. It was wonderful. It felt like home. Reality Boston will be our home church one day, hopefully soon.

I took something home with me that day. We took a lot of things home from Boston that weekend, in fact. When we left Boston, our suitcases were definitely much heavier than they had been on the way there. We brought home hoodies and t-shirts for our kids, aprons and mugs for my parents, sweeties (or should I say candies?!) and chocolate. It goes without saying that I had to bring home Twinkies for my little bro, as well as coffee creamer, and a new Thinking Cup cup (!) for me. Every now and then Dave puts on his Boston Bruins top and we smile.

These things were all lovely things to bring home, but, the coffee creamer has now run out. I only have three Hershey's Kisses left and the Twinkies were demolished within a few days of our return. But one thing has remained with me.

When Al Abdullah spoke on Sunday morning, he urged us to turn up the volume of God's Song. He challenged us to listen to God's Song, God's voice, above all things. He told us of the times when we allow other songs to be louder than God's Song. Maybe we listen to the "I'm Still Single" Song, or even the "My Job Sucks" Song. Perhaps all we can hear is the "I Am So Worried About How My Kids Will Turn Out" Song or even the "When Will I Get All The Appreciation I Deserve?" Song. All the other songs are playing so loudly and God's song has been turned down so much, that we can't hear God's Song or his voice at all. We can't hear His voice, His truth at all. Sometimes, we hear a small murmur of truth - He loves us, He is all-powerful, He is our Healer, He will never Leave us, He has a perfect plan, He is good, He has the victory - and we turn it down more, in favour of listening to the other songs.

Since we returned from our weekend in Boston, our lives have drastically changed. Life does that. We're rarely ready for change, but God is. I have struggled at times, to keep God's Song the loudest. But I am amazed by the power of God, by His love, by His equipping of our family and by His goodness. It has been a challenging time, but God's beautiful, powerful, peace-making Song is seeing me through. As I parent my kids, dealing with my own imperfections as well as theirs, I can hear God's Song reminding me that He will complete the transforming work that He is doing in us. As Dave and I try to ride the storm of the financial state of our world, God's Song whispers promises of His provision for us. As I move forward in our women's ministry at church, I dance to the beat of God's amazing Song, which transforms, releases and empowers His daughters as we gather together to worship Him and share our stories of all He has done in us. And as we wait on God for the next step in our journey towards Boston, His Song gives me peace that He will direct our paths and make a way, and that we need not have any anxieties, because His Kingdom is coming .and we will be a part of it.