When God Draws You Close

Friday, July 6th, 2012 my sons and I went to Myers Park United Methodist Church so I could prepare my children for Mom's  Memorial Service the next day.  This church is special to me because it is where I grew up.  It is where the Lord and I began our relationship and where I first chose to follow Him.  It is where I was baptized and where Mike and I were married.  It is part of my history.... and my immediate family's history.  I think of my Moma working there so many years as the Senior Pastor's Secretary, I imagine her walking those hallways, or at her desk tapping away on her typewriter, greeting others with that smile of hers, helping with the youth, so involved in the church in so many areas throughout her life.... I think of being in the children's choir and all of the activities during my time as a youth, my parents' loving friends, the pastors we knew and "Uncle Walter" the organist, and our times of worship together.  So many happy memories flood my heart when I step through any door of Myers Park Church.

 The Lord drew us so close to Him this particular afternoon....and I was so grateful.

 I didn't want any surprises for Joseph or Philip.  I wanted to help process Grandmom's death and Memorial Service with them beforehand as much as I could, because tomorrow was going to be quite a day.  

We had already talked about death and dying.  We had already talked about the joy and hope we have in Jesus Christ.  They had already asked great questions and we had had some good talks. 

I wanted to show them the chapel itself and where they would sit.
It is a beautiful place of worship. They were already familiar with the big sanctuary, but had never seen the chapel.

I wanted to show them the columbarium as well.....
Seeing a columbarium was going to be a first for them.  I just wanted them to "see" Mom's resting place before the actual service tomorrow in the garden outside the chapel.

It is a beautiful place, this little garden.  Pastor Shane says people come there everyday.  The Chapel is not that old and was built on top of the playgrounds behind the church where my brother and I played as children. It is surrounded on one side by a new play ground.  We looked at Mom's section,  "I am the Light of the World". Every section has the name of Jesus on it.  Her niche is right at Philip's eye level believe it or not

We talked about other things concerning what they would see tomorrow.  There were to be no surprises.  I wanted them to know what to expect and I think doing this brought me a peace as well.

After seeing both of these beautiful places we went upstairs to the fellowship hall where we would have the reception the next day.  I wanted to have in my mind where Daddy would sit at the reception and wanted a clear visual of what might be best for him.

During this entire tour of what was to come tomorrow we had something very special and unexpected take place.  It was exactly what I needed the day before my mother's memorial service.

We had been told about a room upstairs right outside Jubilee Hall where my dad might could receive people.  I wanted to see what that room was.  We found it.  It was the prayer room.  It was the most wonderful surprise from God he gave me this week.  We walked through the door and it was truly amazing.

A stained glass window directly in front of you....

But in between the window and yourself as you entered was this huge rugged cross.....it was in the center of the room.  In the center for a purpose because everything about our faith revolves around the cross.

It was amazing.  
There were little desks on each side of the room in front of us where you could sit down and read, pray, or write prayer requests or whatever was on your heart and post them on the wall.

Philip and I were looking at the items on one desk.  He found this stone.

 It was precious.  There were others with other sayings on them.  When I turned around to look for Joseph I saw this....

...my son was hugging the cross.  He said he felt like he was hugging Jesus when he hugged that cross.  I started to cry.  "I just want to hug him, Mom", he said. 
This plain, wooden beam cross, drew my son in.  This room had such a presence of the Lord there.  The music playing, the special things in there giving us visuals and sparking our hearts, reminding us of God's love, sacrifice, and provision.  God was drawing us closer to him in these moments.  I started to cry when Joseph told me how he felt about hugging the cross.  He wanted to feel as close to Jesus as possible right then and there.  He knew it was not "the cross" but just a symbol, but it really impacted him.  Since I was crying, Philip grabbed me and Joseph came up to me and hugged me too.  We were all hugging each other and crying by the cross.  I told them I was so thankful they were there with me.  Thanked them for hanging in there with me all this week about Grandmom.  It had been so very hard.  It was the most special moment I had had all week and it was spent in that special room with my two sons.  If my Mom could have seen this new prayer room at her church, she would have been so very touched by it, I am certain. 

Then we went to each side of the room....Each of these corners were partitioned off beautifully for privacy. You could sit down in a comfortable chair with a table close by and reflect, pray or just sit and be with God.  One section was about forgiveness.... there were post it notes of prayers on the wall.  Personal notes to the Lord.  This was sacred ground, peoples hearts were on that wall.

The other about love.....

With all kinds of Scripture about God's love right in front of us.  You could sit down by this little table and read all of them and pray and be reminded of His mighty love.  I needed those Scripture reminders the day before Mom's service.  It was truly wonderful to have so many verses right there in front of me on that wall of Love.

Philip started writing on a post it note.... he wrote several and posted them on the wall where others were.  It was so special he could express himself in this way about Jesus and about Grandmom.
Then on the other side, Joseph sat at the desk and wrote his own prayer and put it on the wall after I did.  I put one in the love section and on this section too.

It took Joseph awhile to decide what he wanted to say....

The act of putting his heart on the wall was awesome.... The wall paper mural is of the Eastern Wall of the temple in Jerusalem.  Mike told me later that what the Jews do is they put their prayers in the cracks of the wall....kind of like the post it notes on the wall.  Whomever designed this room was extremely thoughtful and definitely had a vision in how it was put together, even down to the tiny details.  So very touching and moving.....

It is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen filled with peace, reverence, and tranquility.  An intimate place where you could quietly be with the Lord.....
I asked the boys if they would come back with me sometime.  They said yes....  and I told them if they ever wanted to come here again I'll bring them and I will, even to the columbarium if they want....

I'm so glad we shared these moments together right before Mom's service.
I will never forget how much of an impact a large rugged cross had on Joseph.... the tangible, the act of expressing our feelings to the Lord, it makes a huge impact on our children's faith.  I saw it in my son's eyes this day.

To God be the Glory!