and I honestly could say that my experience was very similar. I didn't actually see Pastor Ed go down, I just heard the gasp looked up at and saw my Mama Belen crying "GA!!!" And it was all a blur after that. I remember being scared and kind of laughing out of nervousness at the thought "What the heck?" But I'm not gonna lie, there were tears.
And then when he sat up and just said, "Okay, where was I?" I had to laugh and shake my head. of course he would keep going. That was how he rolled.
Then of course when the paramedics came and he called on Alex to come forward I thought, "Talk about being called to serve." It was all so surreal and all so...strangely familiar. The kind of crashing of reality that happens when someone you love goes through something like that because it brings to focus the fact that something isn't right. The sobering that takes place when you realize of what could have been and ultimately what is to come in accordance to God's will.
It was all so...much. I think that's the only way to describe it.
Seeing my family kind of break down individually in tears; having to hug Tita Ritz as she regaled her own experience and feeling as though she was trying to squeeze all the pain away into my side was enough to make me feel weary and tired. I wanted to get away and think, I wanted to just sit by myself and truly comprehend everything that was going on, but...I knew what Papa would have wanted. Go back to service. Go back and listen to the message he wanted us to learn so badly that he brushed off a fainting spell for it.
Seeing Alex up there was another interesting experience. It seemed to fit him and though shaken up he slowly fell into an ease, and I think he was especially blessed by the circumstances since everyone seemed to be at attention. Sure everyone was worried, but there was a general consensus that this was an important message.
To make a commitment to the church is to make a commitment to God. I can't really quote anything as the whole message was more prone to my own connection of the dots, but what I do remember thinking as Alex was talking about how the edification of each other is an edification of the church and ultimately ourselves I kept thinking, The church is the Lord's bride. The being that God's love is being promised to and that's us. What kind of wedding would it be if the groom said "I do" and the bride said, "Um. I'm not sure yet."
so much for a successful marriage.
But that's why joining the church is so important. It may not be contingent in being saved, but commitment, as any one in a successful relationship will tell you, is more than just saying that you are commited but the actual act of committing. Of being involved and working to glorify God through your work in the church. Often times loving God is not the issue, it's loving Him enough to prove it.
After the service I think we were all pretty overwhelmed. I mean, there were a lot of things that I knew had to go on with the Youth going to Sierra View and Julio's Baptism scheduled, many were already writing them off as postponed but when i approached my dad, I'll never forget what he said, "Keep doing the work."
Papa (Pastor Ed) did. He kept going even in the face of a medical anomoly. And if we were to learn anything from his example it would be to do just that. Keep doing the work.
And so we did, and I'm so glad that we did. I truly believed that some of the people at Sierra View were blessed, even despite the minor complications. And I know Tito Sonny, Tita Felly, and Tito Vic were, so even if I may be wrong about the old folks, I know I'm not wrong about them. And even moreover, getting to see Julio be baptized and hearing his testimony to the very small crowd was enough to remind me that Pastor Ed is a stewerd of God, and though he love him and care for him and want him to thrive and continue to be there for us, the reality is that sooner or later he won't be. But his example is to keep doing the work. To keep moving forward and to never stop just because something bad has happened.
If we did then we'd miss out on the opportunities that God gives to us from a fellow brother in Christ being given the chance and the strength to pick up the pieces after an crippling incident, to singing in a quiet old folks home and bearing through technical difficulties to keep performing, and even to hearing a twelve year old boy say to all of his family and friends how at the age of eight he truly realized what it meant to dedicate his life to Christ and how he had asked God to come into his heart. We can't miss them. And we know in all things God works for the good of those who love him and are called to his purpose therefore we have to keep going because we Love God and his work never stops.
Keep doing the work.
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