Photo Credit: Cindi Oakley Johnson, Mayodan Moravian Church
Today is my home church’s homecoming.
I say “home church,” because it’s the church I attended my entire childhood and youth and of which I remain an associate member. It provided the foundation for my faith. I wish I could have attended yesterday’s event, but time didn’t permit me the drive there.
Mayodan Moravian Church has always been close to my heart. It was my original “holy grounding.” I was baptized and confirmed there, learned about missions, and learned my first Bible verses. I had the beautiful privilege of going to camp at a Moravian camp, encountering God in creation. I sang in the children’s choir and was exposed to some of the most beautiful hymns (I’m a hymn geek!). I learned about giving to others from trick or treating for UNICEF, something my father got our youth group into because he wanted us to learn about children around the world living in poverty and how we could help them.
Side note: Most of us in our town didn’t live much above the poverty line, but we had more than most of the world.
I witnessed some of the most humble people in that church selflessly serving God.
I wander into this church alot when I visit my hometown, and I walk through its graveyard, fondly remembering the everyday saints whose earthly remains rest there and who helped shape my faith. I have peace there.
It was my original holy ground.
Any place we stand really is holy ground when we are mindful of God’s presence. He’s always with us, but, oh, the times we don’t acknowledge His presence.
When I rebranded my practice a couple years ago, I knew I wanted to call it “Holy Grounding.”
Why?
Because I try to help my coaching and yoga clients, along with anyone who reads my writing or hears me speak, to think about how they are rooting down–grounding–in the Lord.
What are your holy grounds?
When I was at my church here in Virginia Beach a few nights ago, I mentioned to some friends that we were on holy ground… a space where thousands of hymns and prayers have ascended over the years, where children and adults have been baptized, where people have united in marriage, and where lives have been celebrated after they passed.
Sit before God today in silence. Soak in his presence and love. Be still… and know He is God.
Root down into your holy ground to rise up to the fullness of life.
And to the little church that shaped my faith and that means so much to me… I pray you will continue to minister to the community for decades to come!
Amy Walton grew up in Mayodan Moravian Church in Mayodan, NC, a town of approximately 2,500 people. She has many “holy grounds,” places where she strongly connects with God. You can connect with her at amywaltoncoaching@gmail.com.
