Anniversaries!
I don’t know how you feel, but I’ve always thought that anniversaries are important! There is always the assumption that the man in the family never remembers the important dates and that the woman does. I’ll tell you, it is just the opposite in our house. Amy is horrible at remembering anniversaries. I rarely miss one. Anniversaries cause me to pause and to take stock of where we’ve been. An anniversary is a time to remember an important event, at times celebrate that event, at other times we grieve what has happened. But anniversaries also offer us a chance to look forward and to imagine a hope-filled future and to dream of what lies ahead.
There are several anniversaries that stick in my mind as I write this blog. May 27th is Amy and my wedding anniversary. I can’t always do the math and figure out quickly how many years it has been, (I think we’ll be at 29 years married) but I’ll never forget May 27th and the day we got married at the Highland Park United Methodist Church. March 26th is an anniversary day for me. That day 15 years ago is the day when we rushed our daughter Sophia to the hospital as she was suffering from a massive stroke from West Nile Virus that left her brain damaged. August 3rd is a new anniversary date that I’m sure will live with me for the rest of my life, for that is the day my mom died. July 5th is another anniversary day that I remember every year as well. Yes it is falls right in line with our nations birthday, but I remember July 5th because it was on that date 26 years ago I preached my first sermon at Wright’s Chapel. I celebrate that day and spend some time looking back at all we’ve accomplished in Jesus name as well as looking forward to see what Jesus is calling us to in our future.
This weekend Nov. 11th -12th we celebrate the one year anniversary of the opening of our Thrift Store Cindy’s Closet. Wright’s Chapel started the store prior to a year ago, but it was a year ago that we ventured out and took a risk of opening up as a store front over behind Giuseppe’s. It has been an amazing year as a small group of ladies has exponentially expanded the ministry we are doing. We’ve been able to serve the community in so many ways this past year that wasn’t possible before we made the move. We’ve worked with Social Services to provide clothes and jackets to several families where children were in critical need. We’ve been able to help a family getting out of a homeless shelter secure some furniture for a small apartment they were moving into. We helped dozens of young women find a beautiful dress (for free) for the prom or for homecoming. In one situation, two young sisters had recently moved into a domestic violence shelter with nothing. Being able to provide a dress for them to go to their school prom provided some normalcy in the midst of the chaos they were living. We’ve had people who have started coming to church at Wright’s Chapel because they met someone and were invited to worship while at the Thrift Store. The ministry that is taking place is something to celebrate. And that is not even mentioning the more than $8,000 that the Thrift Store has been able to donate to Wright’s Chapel and other organizations and churches in our community who are doing ministry in the name of Christ. It has been a great year over at the thrift store. It is something to celebrate, but this weekend is also a chance for all of us to dream of what is to come and the ministry we might do. I hope you’ll stop by sometime this weekend from 10:00-2:00 on Saturday or on Sunday from 9:30-1:00 pm. Cindy’s Closet Thrift store is located at 17484 Center Dr, Ruther Glen VA. It is an anniversary weekend and it matters!
