Fellowship Memphis

Where my girls at? Of course, I’m taking great liberties to call them “my girls” since some of them are nearly 20 years older and wiser than I am, but for the sake of establishing literary style, I’m sure they will understand.

Prior to our move here, the Lord took us to the wilderness for a short time. Ellenton, Florida isn’t exactly the far side of the Jordan River, but it was 20 minutes from anything and with a new baby in tow, I found it very challenging to establish community. Equally difficult was finding a church body to connect with, so difficult that I specifically remember it was around Christmas time when I cried out to the Lord for deliverance of some kind….a transfer, a move…any form of hope would do. He answered with two job offers for Marcus in Memphis. We certainly never expected to choose to move to Memphis (apologies to the natives in our body!), but under the circumstances we were in, it was a no-brainer. I’m sure the Lord smiled, aware of what blessings He had in store for us as we packed up and headed to town. We certainly never expected them. Six years ago my husband’s job brought us to Memphis; shortly thereafter a search on Google and some earnest prayer brought us to Fellowship Bible Church.

Both Marcus and I have been gifted in our own specific ways during our time in town, but what resonates powerfully in my head as I walk through yet another stretching time of life is one blessing in particular. Which brings me to “my girls.” In the words of Cinderella, “you don’t know what you got till its gone;” such was the lesson I learned in a profound way during our stay in Florida. We left a very strong body of believers behind when we left the only home we, together as a couple, knew in Franklin, TN. And when the realities of being very much un-connected to a church body finally set in, it was almost too much to bear. We needed community. It might be one of the few areas where both the secular and Biblical worldview can agree. I was a new mom with a new role in a new place in life and I needed people…women, to be specific. I needed those women that Titus 2 speaks of, but the funny thing is I didn’t see it at the time. God did, and when Betsy McCurry embraced me with that lovely smile during my first visit to Fellowship Bible Church here in Memphis, I realized how much I did too.

So while I didn’t know to ask where my girls were at, God did, and with the discovery of this church came the added bonus of a greater, spiritual family…mothers, sisters… the “body” I never knew how much I needed. You know who you are; each of you offering your specific gifts of wisdom and example in all areas of life… from schools to careers, husbands to family pets. I’m the lucky beneficiary of each of them and there is no better time of year than now to praise God for each of you.