The Invitation

“A little question, can lead to a lifelong calling.” – Clayton King

The story is one that I’ve told before, only not with the same connotation.  It was January 1994.  Six months earlier, I found myself divorced and raising 2 boys, along with the help of my family.  Fortunately, I was surrounded with supportive friends and family, and immersed in church activities, especially with the singles department.  In other words, I was content, not looking for a man to make me happy, rather focusing on my relationship with God, my boys and my friends.  In fact, I remember one day, while taking the boys to preschool, I prayed out loud with them, “God, I am content with what you’ve given me.  If you want me to have a husband and the boys to have a man in their lives, then you are going to have to bring him.”

Since, I was an active part of the singles ministry at that time; I was accustomed to making phone calls, writing letters, and visiting people. When I was approached by my friend, who would later become my brother and sister in-law, to call Terry and invite him to come to church, the furthest thing from my mind was a relationship.  I just knew that according to Tom and Marie, Terry had been actively involved in church at one point, but had drifted away.  They felt like he was ready to come back, but also knew that someone besides a family member needed to encourage him to come back. 

I accepted the task eagerly, without hesitation, and began making phone calls to Terry.  The hardest part was that initially he was never at home.  I ran into Marie at church and she said, “Don’t quit trying.”  Finally after about 3 weeks of failed phone attempts, I called on a Saturday in late January and to my surprise, Terry answered the phone.

After the initial introductions and the purpose for my call which was to invite him to come to church and try the singles ministry, we talked.  (Now for those of you who really know us, you will not find that hard to believe)  We talked for well over an hour and shared openly about our failed relationships and the effects those relationships had on us.  When our conversation was over, I again issued the invitation, “How about coming to church tomorrow?”  He said, “I will be there and told me exactly where he would be sitting so that we could meet face to face.

The next day, there he was sitting precisely where he told me he would be, with those adorable little boys, Brad & Zach.  After the initial introductions, he asked me where my boys were and I explained they were in the nursery.

It has been over 19 years that I issued an invitation to Terry.  I was not responsible for his response to my invitation; I was only responsible to ask.  He responded favorably and as a result, not only did he return to church and rededicate his life to Jesus, but in the end, he offered an invitation to me of marriage and my response to him was “yes”.

The point is this:  You never know how your invitation will affect someone else’s life and you never know how your response to an invitation will change your life.

As this Easter Season approaches, my invitation today.  Come and join us at Newspring for our Easter Services.  For dates times and locations please visit:  http://newspring.cc/easter/  

We will be attending at the Greenville location and would love to see you there. 

Newspring:  A place where it’s ok, to not be ok.  It’s just ok to stay that way.