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Topic: Beginnings (05/31/04)
TITLE: STARTING OVER By Marie B. Corso 06/07/04 |
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Two years later, I am happy for that new beginning in my life. I have a new home, a new doctor, a new dentist, a new bank, a new library, a new writing group, a new park to walk in, a new grocery store, and lots of other “news”. The biggest “new” is my church. I left a spirited church with a pastor who was not afraid to stand up for God’s position on any issue. I looked hard to find a missions minded church, unflinching on the important doctrines of the Bible. I am happy to report, I found a good church. It took six months in this big church before someone called me by name as I walked down the hallway, but it finally happened. Slowly, I am feeling like I belong.
The exchange of the old for the new is not an even exchange. I left friends of thirty-five years behind; making new friends has been difficult. I left a warm (and hot) climate for a four-season climate. One of those seasons is cold and sometimes snowy, but a glorious spring each year more than makes up for the gloom of winter. I left a relatively inexpensive lifestyle for a more costly one. I left a small rural town for a city of a million people. But being able to see my grandchildren anytime I choose, watch them grow, and be another godly influence in their lives has been worth it. I am happy to be a servant and help my daughter with her family. And, I feel more secure being around family as I am now an official senior citizen.
Though moving was a big step in my life, there was another new start that was much more dramatic and more important. At age 27, I read a book about Jesus Christ. I saw myself as a sinner, repented, and began a new life. Coming to Christ at that age, I became a rare statistic. Usually, if persons aren’t saved by the time they are an older teen, they may not come to Christ until much later in their life. When I accepted Christ, I literally felt the burden of my sins roll off my back. The world was fresh and clean; I was a new person.
Relocating to a new city can be fun and exciting, but it pales by comparison with the joy of being made new in Jesus Christ.