Today I’m going to open up my heart
in a way I never have before.
There will be some raw, tender moments…and I ask that if you choose to read this that you are careful with my heart.
It can’t take being ripped apart right now, especially by someone who has not been in my shoes.
But I do ask that you read what I write…cause that’s why I write it after all!
But if you don’t want to, that’s ok.
And now that I’ve completely contradicted myself? Let’s go.
I once read a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Life’s a journey,
not a destination.”
So profound, and at the same time, so incorrect…at least for me in the place I am right now.
There is nothing wrong with a journey.
In fact, that’s what I’m going to write about today. I want my journey to be important, to matter, to be life-changing.
But as a believer in Christ, I must never, ever forget that it is the destination that is what’s important. And my destination, my true home, is Heaven. But there is plenty to be said for a believer’s journey and the impact he/she can have on earth.
God has taken me (and my husband) on quite the journey this past year, and I want to share it…truly share it…with you. I would be writing for hours upon hours if I attempted to fit it all into one blog post.
So, instead, I’m breaking it up into who-knows-how-many days.
We shall see. 
This journey is one of faith, of validation, of assurance, of a search for Truth.
You see, my husband and I have been what the world would term Christians for most of our lives. We were both taught at an early age that Jesus died for our sins, that he rose again, and because of this, we could have eternal life in Heaven someday.
We know that…it has been ingrained and implanted in us for years.
We can give you the plan of salvation in a minute flat, Scripture included.
We know the answers for most situations and how to back them up with verses.
We can even flip our way through the Bible faster than most of you can. Ok, ok…so that’s not a fair judgment…I’m just sayin’. It’s pretty stinkin’ fast. It would be fun to have a contest sometime, though!
However, a few years ago, things started to shake a little…figuratively. And looking back, we see this shaking as a blessing in disguise.
We realized that we knew SO MUCH…but had no idea why we believed it.
We had been living in a more non-denominational community and were amazed by the things we learned. Forgive me for what I’m about to share…but bear with me.
Because I’m not lying.
The crux of it is that we came to a quite sudden realization that not just Baptists would be in Heaven.
Go ahead and pick yourself up off the floor…it’s ok. So we were kind of (or completely) raised to think we were right, and no one else was.
And before continuing with this thought, you need to know that the idea had been in our minds for quite awhile, though we’d never really talked about it.
The last church we attended in M
innesota was a Baptist church that was balanced and very Biblical. (And pretty amazing, too. Love you all at ABC. :))
However, suddenly we were around Christians from all types of backgrounds and denominations…and these people believed just like we did.
(Well, maybe without all the stuffy rules that we’d been guilted into following for years.) These people were passionate, on fire, and dedicated to loving the Father.
They put me and my rule-following to shame.
Shame.
As we got to know them and realized how much they loved God, we began to feel that we’d been deceived but didn’t know how to communicate that. And so, to a certain extent, we shut down.
And then after Indonesia, we moved to a new place. We knew no one…and we also knew that there was no better place for us to continue this journey.
Because here we were…in our 30’s.
And searching.
For what, we had no idea. But we knew God would show us in His time.
Part 2 tomorrow: Losing the denomination and following Him.
