Be Thou my Vision

I seem to be getting half of my post titles from songs :) but anyway, today I was listening to this local artist Dave Villano who just does instrumental stuff and the song Be Thou my Vision was on there and I started thinking about my old church in Denver. Though I wasn't Christian, it was the first place where I found God. I was baptized Catholic and attempted to learn stuff from the Bible. I remember really clearly talking to one of my best friend that also went to my church who was having issues with another girl. I said, "Well, you know how Jesus says to forgive? Well - maybe you should forgive her." I don't know if that worked or not, :) but I figured it would get added to 'Katie's doing-good points.' list that I thought God kept in Heaven to check to see if we could get in. Anyway, I remember in 7th-9th grade where I didn't know if I wanted to be Catholic anymore since half my friends were against organized religion. I started ditching Sunday School and instead sat in the back of the service. I'd still wait for my grandparents at the same spot by the classrooms so they'd think I went to class. Then I'd participate in the second service along with them.

Now, I think it's hilariously ironic that the kid that wanted to rebel against organized religion got a double-dose of church during that time, but I would just sit there and think about what I had learned about God thus far and just ask Him to help me with this quuestion. I knew too much about Jesus to reject him. I was telling one of my friends, "Well, I might not want to be in organized religion, but I can't give up believing in Jesus because then I'd never get into heaven for sure." and they said, "what do you mean?" and I said, "Well, you have to believe Jesus existed and was God, and you have to be really good to get into heaven." Of course coming to CSU and learning that admission into Heaven was based on grace by faith, changed some of that...

Anyway, I remember that the songs really stuck with me. A lot of them were taken from passages in the Bible, which, looking back, it was somewhat valid to ponder them as it was as close as I would get to memorizing the Word except for it I memorized the passages that were read during the service which, at the time, I didn't really see very benificial to do. I found a lot of comfort in the songs though and they would go through my head if I needed to lean on them for comfort.

In church there was where I really felt close to God and really sought after Him even though I never really understood His salvation until I got to college. God kept me in that environment from ages 7-18 to cushion and protect me from things that would happen outside that world. Church was my third home where I sought after and found comfort in God my true Father.