God’s Guidance is Good

Several years ago I started an internet search for a cousin whose existence was no more than a rumour. In the 1930s, my mother’s oldest brother disagreed with his Scottish family over his choice of bride. He moved away and was never heard from again. Towards the end of her life, my mother started to look for him, but, without the availability of the internet, she was unsuccessful.

I started looking at the various family members’ birth, marriage and death certificates, as well as military records, because once you start looking for data it is so easy to digress and to discover more about your ancestors. Hours seem to pass by in a moment. It stood out to me that a lot of them were listed as Presbyterian. When I was a child we moved a lot but my mother favoured our attendance at a Presbyterian church, if one was nearby.

Since our marriage, my husband and I have attended several different churches, first in England and then in Canada. Although providing spiritual sustenance, l felt there was still something missing at the church I was currently attending. I took my concerns to the Lord in prayer, and I heard, “Go back to your Presbyterian roots” very clearly. Now I had a new challenge! I enjoyed teaching Sunday school each week at the church I was attending, so how could I find a Presbyterian church to go to—would I have to take a Sunday morning once a month to go to a Presbyterian church? What I needed was one that was open on Sunday evening and was in my end of the city. What were my chances of finding that? I also believed that if God wanted me to go to one, there would be a solution to my predicament, and that He would reveal it to me.

I retrieved a local weekly newspaper from our recycling box. I knew that some churches were listed in it. And there it was: Barrhaven Presbyterian Church. Worship on Sundays at 6 p.m. There was also a website. I laughed. The Lord is amazing. I know we know it, but there are times when you are just in awe of what God does.

I told my husband that we had to go to this church on Sunday because of how the Lord had answered my prayer. First, we looked at the website and listened to a recording of a previous week’s message. It helped us to get a sense of what the church was like. That Sunday we attended the church and enjoyed the service. I like structured services, and hymns played on a piano. People were friendly and I found out that it is a new church, and intent on growing strong roots in Barrhaven.

It is exciting to be going to a church that has so much potential to grow and flourish. Every church has so much to offer to its community, and the community can reciprocate by supporting the church. Every time you can share and show the love of the Lord, it is a blessing. Perhaps you don’t think that you have anything to offer, but God gives us all gifts that we can share with others. Please don’t keep yours to yourself.

I started this by writing about my search for a possible cousin. Do I have a cousin? Yes, I do. I found him after a three-year search. Like me, he is an only child and we have been emailing back and forth and have exchanged photos. I hope to meet him one day. It was also wonderful to see what my uncle and aunt looked like. The sad part was that when my mother started looking for her brother he had already passed away.