I get the inspiration for my blogs from things that happen to me or lessons I have recently learned that I have yet to share. On Father’s Day my older son and his family came over for a cookout. After dinner we watched a DVD of a comedian named Michael Jr. You probably have not heard of him. I hadn’t either. He is a very funny Christian comedian who actually performed at my grandson’s church on Father’s Day. My son bought his DVD after the performance. I laughed until tears ran down my face. Very funny guy. And clean humor, too. Something rare these days.
The following day I wanted to google him to see if I could find the same DVD. I thought I would purchase it to watch again some time. I found the DVD but also a 30 minute YouTube video which had some new material on it. I was home alone and decided to watch it because I knew it would be funny. It was, until the last ten minutes of the video when he spoke of Jesus. He used an analogy saying that we are all individual houses and Jesus wants to come into our house.
Let me share with you my religious background. I grew up in a Christian family. My father played the organ and was the choir director at our church which was across the street from our house. My sister and I were in the choir and my mother helped with community functions and rummage sales. (There’s a word you don’t hear anymore!) My sister and I went to Sunday School every Sunday. Only illness would keep us from going.
When we moved from that town (this was outside of Providence, Rhode Island) I was eight years old. We not only left the town, we left the state. We moved to Philadelphia, PA where for a while we attended a Methodist Church. That fell by the wayside and soon we had stopped going to church altogether. And so it went for many years. There was one summer I attended a Catholic Church with my mother, but just for the summer.
Years later, as an adult, I found the Science of Mind Church in Huntington Beach, CA where my sister had been going for some time. I started going there and have gone to one of their churches every since. I was perfectly happy with their teaching. It was more philosophical and scientific than religious, but it suited me (and my current husband) just fine. Until I listened to Michael Jr.
He guided us through a process. As I began the process, I merely thought of it as interesting and I wanted to see where it would lead. He said that Jesus wants to come into your house but he will not force his way in. Only you have the power to let him in. The doorknob is on your side of the door. He said that most of us open the door a crack, just enough to ask a favor of Him and then we close it again. We don’t want him to see the mess in our house, which, as it turns out, is the mess in our lives. What we don’t realize is that Jesus would gladly come in and help us clean up.
The process continued. It caught me by surprise and before I realized it I was crying. I was crying and then I was letting Jesus into my house! Afterward I contacted my younger son in Oregon who is a Christian. I relayed the story to him. He was very happy, as you can imagine. He said he would be my mentor and anytime I had questions, I should not hesitate to ask. He also gave me assignments. As it turns out, the Bible he wanted me to read (“New Believers” Bible) I already had in my possession. Not that I had ever read it, but I still had it. Incredibly, I was able to locate it. It has been ten years since I last laid eyes on it.
He told me to start with John. Then he also told me to watch the movie, “Son of God” which came out last year. I did. It was a powerful film and very well done. After finishing John, I asked for my next assignment. “What did you learn?” Ah, so I can’t slide, just because it’s my son. And so I told him. “Good. Next I want you to read Romans.” And on it goes.
Ever since this “happened” to me, I have felt differently. Things in my life seem to work themselves out and I am basically happier. I also feel closer to God.
Why am I telling you this? Because it is something significant that happened to me. Because if you haven’t heard Michael Jr. then you should listen to him. If you haven’t seen the movie, “Son of God” you should watch it. It is a beautiful film. Because maybe there is something missing in your life that you just can’t put your finger on. And finally, just so you know that it is okay to go back to something you believed a long, long time ago and start to believe it again, if it feels right.
I remember one Science of Mind minister telling us that Christianity served us well as children. But now that we were adults, we needed to move on to something more. I actually feel the opposite. Science of Mind is a great philosophy. It has many teachings that I believe in and will continue to follow. But clearly it was time I reached for something more. And so I did. And it feels right and it feels good.
Amen. :))