Which Road?

Early in my walk with Christ, there was a period of time when I was waiting tables. During that time there was a particular season where a number of customers would ask me if I was saved, or going to heaven, or something to that effect. I would answer yes and they would say "Are you sure?" or "How do you know?", something like that. These were different customers, they didn't know each other, and it would happen at different times.

To be perfectly honest, it was getting on my nerves. I was a Christian. I knew that I was going to heaven. So why were these people, who didn't know me, questioning my salvation? What made them think I wasn't a Christian? I wasn't doing anything sinful, so what was the deal?

One day I was waiting on a couple and at some point they asked if I was a Christian. I said I was and went back to doing my job. The next time I went to their table, the man had left the table to use the restroom, and the lady told me that what prompted the question was that they had been trying to decide if I was or wasn't a Christian. She said that her husband didn't think I was, but she thought so all along. I'm wondering now if they didn't have a little wager on it. :)

I am sure she told me this to encourage me, but what stayed with me was that this man didn't think I was a Christian. Neither one of them knew for sure, they were just guessing.

But aren't Christians supposed to look different than unbelievers? Shouldn't we stand out? Isn't that what the Bible says?

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden." Matthew 5:14

So I began to ask God "If I'm supposed to look like a light in darkness, why can't people see the difference?"

I began to think about what it says in Matthew...

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and
narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:14

From where I stood, I could only see one road, and it looked like a very wide road with a lot of people on it. Where was that other road and why didn't I look like I was on it. Even though I was a Christian, I realized that I didn't look much different than those who were not. It wasn't what I was doing that was the problem, but more the things I wasn't doing. Right then I asked God to put me on that narrow road and make sure I was not on the wide one. This ushered me into a serious spiritual growing stage and an even deeper relationship with my God.

I am certainly still a work in progress, but I can see both roads and which one I'm on. I'm so thankful that God put all those people in my path to bring this to my attention.

So what does your road look like?



Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind ~ Luke 10:27

Tammy Trent Event

The other night several ladies from my Sunday School class, along with invited guests, packed ourselves into a few cars and drove to First Baptist Church of Euless – Women’s Event to see Tammy Trent. Of course I completely forgot about the planned outing until after I had left work. I was driving home (the opposite direction of our meeting spot at LABC) with my mind wandering in all sorts of directions when I looked at the clock, 5:10... all of a sudden it hit me that I had 10 minutes to be at the meeting spot. All I could think was ... Tobi had been in the house all day and would need to go out, and I was wearing an old pair of jeans and really wanted to change. But there was no time to go home and meet for the carpool, so I turned the car around and headed to LABC feeling totaly frumpy and trying to call Nikki to see if she could go to my house to let poor Tobi out. Well she didn't have her car so Tobi would just have to cross her legs til I got home. Fortunately she can wait a very long time without a potty break.

Anyway, we had a great time. First off, the ladies in this class are just the sweetest group of women you could hope to know, full of love for the Lord and for each other. We pray together, laugh together, cry together, and support each other as we are able. I am so blessed to be part of this group. Ok, so we began the evening with a light meal at the church as part of the event. The tables each had a beautiful centerpiece vase of white hydrangeas. Our waitstaff was (were?) a number of men from this church who had volunteered to serve us. They did a spectacular job and made us feel very special. Dinner was delicious. We had a leafy green salad, a fruit bowl with a variety of fruit, some very good chicken salad, pita chips (those were really good too), and melt in your mouth candy/cookie for desert. I don't really know what to call it. It was a paper thin chocolate round about 4" in diameter, covered with almonds. Mmm, mmm, mmm.

After the meal we all headed into the worship center where Tammy would be speaking, singing and leading us in worship. She has a beautiful voice, and is so cute, and sooo lively. You could tell she really wanted to cut loose and dance with all her might ... and she finally did. It was great! She told her story of how 5 years ago she lost her husband of 11 years, and how God has turned her ashes into beauty. You can read about it on her website ... Tammy's Website. She also has clips of her music on her site and they are worth the listen.

At the end she gave away a few things and I got this very cool necklace in the photo. It was one of Trent's (her husband) designs. The vertical bar of the cross is designed like a road that narrows at the top, and the cross bar says Narrow Minded. As soon as she described it I knew I wanted it and what it referred to. "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14) This was the scripture that God kept bringing to my mind at a particular spiritual turning point in my life. That's why I wanted the necklace. Tammy had actually handed it to another lady (caught in a moment of indecision) and that sweet lady walked over to me and gave it to me. God Bless her. Tammy had another gift for her too. Tammy has such a sweet heart and strong love for the Lord. So it turned out to be fun night and Tobi was fine when I got home.