amazing weekend!

I had the most amazing experience this past weekend. 
I traveled home to visit my parents and my mom and I completed the Hartford 1/2 Marathon together. 
We started together....and stayed together until we crossed the finish line - together. 
I am so blessed to have such a close relationship with my mom.  It was such an honor to see the results of her training as we finished the race. 

It's a moment I will never forget.  I thank God for my mom, for the relationship we have and for the memories we are blessed to share.  I know there are other mothers and daughters that have relationships like we do...and those who do not.  I should also say that it was great to have the opportunity to worship with the congregation where I worshipped as a kid and young adult.  Stepping into that building is coming home.  The people there are family, whether they knew me as a kid or just met me this past weekend, that community in Christ helped me become the woman I am today, the woman God created me to be.  There are so many women in that congregation who I could call mom.  So many women who impacted my life in little, yet important ways to help me become who I am today and who I continue to be. 

I feel that way at Trinity, too.  The sense of family, the feeling that people here are my family, just as my mom, dad and sister in New England are, just as my family at First Lutheran in Ellington is....The blessings found in the family of a congregation are amazing.  I pray that people find that congregation that teaches, nurtures and encourages them to grow in faith and in life. 

Find that congregation, worship with that congregation, pray with them, sing with them, fellowship with them, share highs and lows with them and be there for them.  It's an amazing thing, a church family, I hope others can experience God's grace and love through the actions and love of a congregation.

+paz