church burning

I saw on the news the other night that Olivet Mennonite church went up in smoke last weekend. I went to school with a few people who attended that church, I remember as a teenager going to a youth events there, I remember as an adult listening to my best friends little brother preach his first sermon there. It's amazing how a church becomes more than just a place to warm a pew on sunday morning, it becomes part of your life.

A few years ago I sat in a large church in Abbotsford remebering walking across the stage at my graduation with six dear friends, I remebered a few years later watching 2 of those dear friends walk down the aisle to that stage to start a new life... and as I sat there with my 6 dear friends reflecting, we said goodbye to one of our children. That church, although it's not my home, represents milestones in our lives, joy and struggles and the support of amazing friends.

I'm sure there was a sense of sadness as the congregation watched their beloved church burn, but sometimes it's in the ashes that God refines and purfies and rebuilds.