Heaven in the Real World

by Aleta Kay

Oct. 23, 2009 column: News Sun

My husband tom and I had been married about 10 years and we were having some problems. We were both Christians but he had backed out of church and I and the children were still going. His job kept him out of town all week long and he would come home on the weekends long enough to get his laundry done and relax a little, then leave Sunday night or Monday morning.

We had a tradition that every fall we would take a leisurely drive to look at the fall colors (we lived in West Virginia). This one year there was only one day we could get away and it was a Sunday. I really didn’t want to miss church and I worried what message it would send the kids if we skipped church for something that seemed so frivolous. Yet, I also really wanted to show Tom that he was special too.

I prayed for hours, seeking the Lord’s will. Finally, the Holy Spirit took me to Ephesians chapter 4:21-33 and I Peter 3:1-6. The bottom line that day was that I should treat my husband the same way I would treat Jesus. If Jesus asked me to go anywhere, I would not hesitate to say yes. Of course, Tom isn’t Jesus, but how would he see the love of Christ if not in me? I agreed that we would go.

It was an amazing day! It was the first year they had Bridge Day at the New River gorge Bridge. We had packed a picnic lunch and were all excited. We didn’t know that it was even going on until we stopped to see why all the cars were there. There were food vendors just getting set up and people selling homemade household items, decorations, toys, etc. I can’t remember all the things that were there.

What I do remember is that while Tom was trying to find a good spot for us to eat, the kids and I walked around looking at everything. We stopped by a flat-bed truck set up as a stage. The group was still setting up its equipment. The sign said, “The Crossmen.” Nice name, I thought, but just because it sounds Christian doesn’t mean it is.

We made our way back to our picnic site, enjoying the day and our family fellowship. Suddenly our 4-year-old daughter said, “Listen, Mommy! They’re singing the same songs we sing in church!” God gave us church after all and he made a dent in Tom’s armor. It was a fabulous day!