Where Everybody Knows Your Name...

I love living in my hometown. There is something to be said for being able to go to the local farmer's market with good friends and running into three former elementary teachers, two relatives, high school classmates, people from church both past and present, previous co-workers, and youth turned adults from my days as Director of Youth Ministries. Oh yeah, and one who attended my college alma-matar.

Some people don't have the kind of love I have for my hometown of Columbus, Indiana and that is okay by me. It really gives me great comfort living in the city of my childhood and raising my family here. I love being a part of the church of my youth and maintaining ties with the church of Troy's youth that we were married in and where our boys were baptized.

Having just returned to St. Peter's my church home and school as a youth, I am thrilled to receive such a loving and warm reception. Yes, St. Peter's is huge, but I have found that coming back to my roots was not so hard. I still know many of the families that were around from the beginning, but I also have made new friends through , attending Sunday School, being part of a parent prayer circle, substituting at the school, and volunteering for Vacation Bible School.

I thought that I might feel lost in the shuffle coming back to St. Peter's, that I might not fit in or that I would feel out of place. But quite the contrary. I prayed that God would help me feel at home and He has been faithful to do so. He is using the simplest smile or "good morning, Sara" in the hallway to help me feel connected. He has also used the meaningful pause at Communion where I smile up at Pastor Teike and he calls me by name causing me to remember his comment at my mother's funeral about her smile that she offered each time she communed with him.

I would still like to be in a small group, but that will come in God's timing. As for now, I am privileged to be asked to teach Sunday School. I'll be honest, I didn't feel so inclined to accept at first, but God used the sermon that Sunday to convict me. What an awesome opportunity to shepherd God's children and to further cement my connection at the church.

I can tell you if it is anything like teaching VBS, that there is nothing like having the smiling face of a pre-schooler looking at you and whispering to their mother: "Mommy... that's my teacher, Mrs. Bishop". I just love being where everybody knows your name.



***Side note: See the bounty of my trip to the farmer's market pictured here. Okay, so Amish fudge,sour dough bread, farm fresh ground beef and cilantro aren't the typical haul for most people. My family loved it so much we couldn't get the picture taken before we had to to dig into the bread and fudge.***