An Anniversary

This is an anniversary week for us. It was this week, back in 1988, that all our belongings were loaded on a truck and we moved to the suburbs of Denver, Colorado. That was a life-changing experience in so many ways. At this time every year I find myself remembering and giving thanks for that experience. That was our first time to be living outside of South Carolina, and we were excited and apprehensive all at the same time.

Life changed for us that week in so many ways. Certainly we were leaving our comfort zone! Life in the Rocky Mountain West is very different from life in the Midlands of South Carolina. Different climate. Different foods. Adjusting to a different time zone and to altitude. Learning our way around a new city. Lots of changes in our lives. It was culture shock for sure!

That first move to a location outside South Carolina was followed by many more, but that move to Denver was definitely a turning point in our lives.

One of my favorite things about that time in Colorado is one of the reasons I'm giving thanks this morning. It was there, at University Hills Baptist Church in Denver, that I attended my first Precept Upon Precept Bible study. My neighbor Connie invited me to go to Bible study with her. I accepted the invitation, not quite sure what I was getting myself in to. I had heard of Precept Bible studies, but had never attended one, although I had been a regular participant in Bible studies at our church in South Carolina for many years.

That invitation was life-changing! I will forever be grateful to the Lord for putting Connie in my path, and forever grateful to Connie for that invitation.

The group was already in the middle of their study.  They were studying Covenant.  At first I was lost as a goose!  Key words and colored pencils and observation worksheets. What in the world! All of those things were new to me, but I quickly grasped the method and dug in. My life was forever changed by that experience.  Not only did I learn great truths about our Covenant-keeping God and His covenant relationship with us, but I learned how to study the Bible. And knowing that has made such a difference in my life!

In the years since then we have moved a number of times. When we left Colorado, we moved to Connecticut where there was no Precept Bible Study available, so I took Precept Leader Training and then began Precept Bible Studies in our local church. Since that time I've been privileged to lead a number of Precept studies and to teach a number of women how to study the Bible.

All because we moved to Colorado and all because Connie invited me to go to Bible study with her.

Today I'm thankful for Connie. A few years after we met, Connie and her family moved up to Wyoming and we lost touch. (This was before we had the internet and social media!)  If I could see her today, I would thank her in person!

I'm thankful for Precept Ministries International. Thankful for their commitment to establish God's people in God's Word. 

And I'm thankful for Kay Arthur. For her teaching ministry, begun so many years ago around her kitchen table.  Thankful for the way she has mentored me from afar, teaching me the truths of the Word, but also teaching me how to study and how to teach.

I'm thankful for the Bible studies that I've participated in and been privileged to lead.  Thankful for the joy of digging deep into God's Word. Thankful for the life-changing truths I have learned.

And I'm thankful for the Word. Truly it has been "a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (Psalm 119:105 ESV)

I'm so thankful today. Thankful that, in His sovereignty, God uprooted us and replanted us in Colorado. Thankful for the experiences there which changed my life.  And I'm praying that I will be faithful to live according to what I have learned and faithful to teach others to do the same.

"Oh how I love your law!  It is my meditation all the day." (Psalm 119:97 ESV)