Odd One Out - Church Girls in a Club
Good Morning. I'm just about to get ready for church today, before I go, I would like to share an eye-opening event from my past with you.
Well, here goes... Have a blessed day!
By the time I was 18 years old, my main focus was to try and figure out what career path I should take. As I was still living at home with my parents, I continued to attend church on a regular basis and I even managed to attend Sunday school and conventions. I was doing just enough to blend in with the crowd at church.
In my mind, I thought that everything was ok with God and I because I was doing all of the basic practical things that pleased Him. Strangely enough, I believed He understood that this was just not the right time for me to make a commitment.
After asking God to help me with my driving test; I passed on my second attempt. Not only did He answer my prayer but He also blessed me with my first car.
My friends and I were planning a big night out, it was supposed to be amazing. What made that night out so special, was the fact that we now had our own transport. We were going to be traveling in style to the club in my second hand, 1 litre, metallic blue Nissan Micra.
The evening for our wild night finally came and I just couldn't wait for the church service to be over so I could make a sharp exit to get home, get changed, pick up my girls and hit the road. There was definitely no time for an altar call that evening.
““That night we weren’t labelled as those three girls from church. We were just Chantelle, Geneetta and Michelle.””
When we got to the club were having great time and by looking at us, you would never know that we were daughters of an Elder, a Minister and a Youth President. We were feeling good because that night we weren't labelled as those three girls from church, we are just Chantelle, Geneetta and Michelle - 3 young ladies who were out to have a good time just like the other ladies in the crowd.
So, there we were in the middle of the club having the time of our lives when all of a sudden we heard loud gun shots. People were screaming, panicking and trampling on one another to get to the nearest exit. We grabbed a hold of each other and raced to the car as quickly as we could. We jumped into my car and instantaneously started praying. Now, I'm not talking about a small prayer like: "Thank you Lord for keeping us safe. Amen." I mean we are really praying from the bottom of our hearts.
We ended the night by sitting in the car talking about how good God was to us. Not long after, I found myself tucked up in bed hours earlier than I originally planned. So much for a wild night out!
Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
St. Matthew 5: 14-16 (The Message)
That night we realised that no matter where we were or how we were dressed, there was something different about us. There was something deep down inside that we couldn't shake off. We looked like all of the other ladies in the club, but something told us that we were different.
Sometimes you may feel as if your the odd one out, but please don't feel bad about it. There's a reason why you can't just blend in with the crowd and it's simply because your not supposed to. God has put something deep down in you too. Start a closer walk with Him today so you can figure out what your purpose is and then you'll know what God has actually called you to do.
Today Michelle (left) is the author of Dead Man Walking and she is going strong in her walk with God. Michelle is founder and Director of Toolbox which is a company that specialises in healthy relationships. Geneetta (right) was the first one out of us to start her walk with God and Michelle and I followed shortly after. She is currently setting up her ministry and business ventures with her husband in Scotland.
Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:2 (The Message)
Welcome to my Walk
I was brought up in church, so grew up knowing all about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and Christianity protocol. However, even when I reached my early twenties, I still didn't feel ready to make that step to confess that Jesus died, rose against and was my saviour.
Truth be told, I was afraid! Don't get me wrong, I liked church; after all it was a big part of not only my life, but also my family's life, but if I can be honest with you, I found it boring.
Each and every time I refused to take the first step towards my walk with God wasn't about wanting to be rebellious or purposely wanting to reject God because I believed in Jesus. At that point in time, I was just more concerned with my personal issues. I worried about having to managing all of the baggage and pressure that came along with being a Christian . All I could see in front of me were more rules and regulations and I imagined myself struggling with an endless list of things that I would have to stop doing.
The church hats, long skirts, the thought of reading the bible day in, day out and even sometimes the miserable faces put me off wanting to commit. I didn't mind having to go to church on a Sunday morning but the thought of living "the church life" terrified me.
I heard very convincing sermons during those days, however, the thought of saying "yes" made me feel uncomfortable because I knew I wouldn't be able to take my "yes" back if I decided to change my mind because of the pressure that would come with having to live up to other people's expectations.
It seems funny now, but I used to think that once I made the commitment to starting my walk, I would have to become a boring God loving robot who loves to be in church twenty-four seven and walks around saying: "God loves you my brother or sister."
I also felt that I wasn't like other saved people in church. They all seemed to have it together and they all appeared to love God and the church life. Back then, I didn't really think I was talented. I feared rejection so I didn't really like to go up to the front to talk, read or pray, and if I started my walk, it would mean that I would have to step outside of my comfort zone.
Boredom was a major concern of mine. What would I do if I ended up feeling stuck? Becoming a Christian meant to me that I would have to exchange my time spent having a good time with my friends in clubs and bars for bible classes and prayer meetings and if I really wanted to go wild and have a good time the only acceptable option available to me would be a weekend away at a convention. I also thought, that after a while, all Christians eventually became clones of each other. Even though I had low self esteem issues during that time in my life, I still wanted to be just Chantelle. The title of "Sister Chantelle" seemed way too heavy. I was confused, eventually I knew that God was calling me but I didn't understand why God wanted to call someone like me to walk with Him, especially when I felt so negatively towards becoming a Christian? I guess I felt that I didn't deserve Him because I felt so different in comparison to the other Christians around me at the time.
Ok, enough of my rambling, let's get back to you. If you are someone who used to be like me, I know exactly how it feels to be sitting on the fence when it comes to making up your mind about saying yes to God.
Perhaps you know that God is calling you because He wants you to have a closer walk with Him but maybe you feel as if you aren't ready. You may have things going on in your life that has created a barrier between yourself and God. Possibly the thought of committing to something that you may want to get out of later on down the line of sounds like a lot of pressure.
Whatever the reason, I'm glad you decided to stop by today. Sitting on the fence could even mean that you've said yes to starting your walk with God but you haven't been making much progress.
I've chosen to mention this on my blog today because I started my walk with God about 9 years ago but I have only come to realise in the last few years that I have actually moved from where I started. I wasn't really making any progression, who knows, maybe I was just walking around in circles rather than moving forward. I just don't want YOU to waste as much time as I did, I don't want YOU to be worrying about stuff like I was. The whole purpose of this blog is to encourage, motivate and challenge you.
Your walk is a personal one, no one can force you to start it but I'd really love it if you would stick around and continue to read as I walk with God and hopefully it will encourage you to start a walk of your own.
This blog is for ANYONE including people who are just curious about God, others who don't feel that they are ready to make a commitment and also readers who are already saved but feel they are bored, stuck or want to have a closer walk with God.
Start walking :-)