Praying Angel
First a disclaimer, this blog entry is not about Calvinism, the Calvinistic doctrine of Predestination or even how the Presbyterian Church views Predestination. This is about my journey to become a Presbyterian. It seems as though the last few years, it seems as though there has been a grand plan for me to become a Presbyterian down even to the house that I live in.
As stated in another entry here on this site, I was raised United Methodist in a small Southern town. There was one Presbyterian Church in town but we lived out in the country and went to the small church about ¼ mile away from our house. Reaching adulthood, I attended different churches on a sporadic basis. Some were denominational and some were independent. I found that I liked some ritual in a church service. It makes me feel a part of history to recite the Apostles Creed. When I say those words, I feel the connection to my parents, to my grandparents and to all my ancestors. The Apostles Creed has been recited by Christians since the 5th century.
A few years ago, I felt the need for that sense of belonging. I needed a Church. I needed God in my life and I needed a Church because I needed a connection to those in God’s family. The small Presbyterian Church ¼ of a mile away from my house met that need. The Church just felt good.
Why do I think that I was predestined to be a Presbyterian? I never thought about the Presbyterian Church until I moved to my current house. Then I started noticing the Presbyterian Church sign. Now I had driven past this sign for 10 years but suddenly I saw it. My daughter was marrying a member of a Presbyterian Church. She didn’t like his Church so wanted me to go with her to visit others. Our first visit was to Sashabaw Presbyterian and we didn’t visit any more Churches after that. I had found my home. She was married there and is living in a nearby town.
This year, I found out that my house was a Presbyterian manse. For those of you who don’t know, a manse is a house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by a minister. The prior owner was the minister for a number of years at a nearby Presbyterian Church. Though the house had passed through another owner prior to my moving in, I believe the spirit of the Church is within. Amazingly enough, the family who bought the house after the minister died also belonged to the Presbyterian Church. Given that most of the people in my town are either Catholic or Baptist, the push for Presbyterian predestination is even stronger.
Now, I am not planning on moving anytime soon but if I do, please note that if you aren’t a Presbyterian when you move in, you just might be one shortly thereafter. And you will go to Church.
Have you ever felt that you were predestined to be somewhere or to have a certain career? Did things just point you in that direction even if you tried to avoid it?
Tags: predestination, Presbyterian