Growing in faith and in life are tricky things.
None of us had a blue print for what it looked like to be a Christian. Mom and dad had no blue prints for parenting (do any of us?). The Fabey family would be and still is a work in process.
The following years were turbulent for us. Mom and dad wavered in marriage, clinging by their very fingertips to save a relationship neither expected to turn out the way it had.
Mom came to faith in Jesus about a year after dad. She was and is a rock. Not in the hard, firm way but in the stable, ever present capacity. While dad would be open to looking into just about anything related to faith in Christ, mom was more conservative. Finding Christ to be the glue to hold them together took time as each of them died to themselves for the betterment of the other and for my brother and I.
During this time, I was exposed to a children's ministry called AWANA. AWANA was cool because I was fast and loved to compete so it worked well for me. I marveled at the kids who already knew all the books of the bible and had a number of pins and patches for their uniforms. I however, wasn't as concerned with those things as I was about competing hard, running around the circle and getting snacks.
I still remember Romans 4.5- in the King James...'but to him who worketh not, but believeth upon him who justifieth the ungodly, his faith will be counted as righteousness.'
I had NO IDEA what that meant, especially because I didn't speak in King James English and because it really wasn't about understanding for me, it was about regurgitating information I was supposed to give.
I have the Kauffman family to thank for the anchor AWANA gave me. They were faithful to pick us up, let us go with them and saw Jesus may be able to capture our hearts as he had done theirs.
This faithfulness produced something in me that was much needed during this season.
Even though I didn't always have a quarter to give at AWANA, it was a weekly thing we did. We didn't always do church and when we did, we didn't always go to the same place, but God did something to me in AWANA, to this day I am still unsure of what all of it was, but I know it was an anchor that would keep me grounded in the worst of times.
What has God used to Anchor you? How has God used how you grew up to shape you?
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