You can't wear flip flops on Easter

 …a reflection from someone who attended the first  service of Golden Acres Baptist @ “The Fort”

You Can’t Wear Flip Flops on Easter…


I have heard it my entire life. You see, before I was a minister’s wife, I was John and Linda’s daughter. Some of you may know my sweet mother and can attest to this fact… “Miss Manners” has nothing on her. Etiquette and appropriate behavior was pounded into mine and my sister’s head from birth. My mom had but one goal: cultured and refined young ladies (Sorry, mom… you did your best). The phrase “that is just the way things are done” governed most of our life.


In our family we celebrated every holiday with a big family gathering. Easter was no exception. You may not know this but, my family is originally from a little town in West Tennessee. We call it the “country.” In the country where we celebrated, we had one simple rule. You wore new clothes on Easter. This was at the insistence of my grandmother who was even more proper than my mother. Dresses, hats, shoes, even panty hose were bought. The whole family was always decked out. We went to church and sat together as a family.


Now I know that clothes do not make the person, but in my family there was an unspoken rule about church attendance and wearing the best you possibly had. To this day you will see my father in NOTHING but a suit and tie in church. I have explained over and over again that we are in Alabama…IT IS HOT HERE! The preacher doesn’t even wear a suit. My daddy will have no part of it…


So you understand why it was just a little awkward for me today.


Today I wore a t-shirt and flip flops. IT IS EASTER! I kept laughing to myself wondering what my sweet grandmother would have thought about my attire. I know what my mom will say when I call her this afternoon.


Today was a work day for us. We (Golden Acres Baptist Church) started a church in Fort Mitchell, Alabama that met for the very first service today in Mount Olive Elementary School. A very passionate guy (translation: crazy) named Adam Johnson had the audacity to listen to God and then do what He said, hence the beginning of “One Church in Two Locations.” Without going into a lot of details, we are the same church body just 20 miles apart. Our goal: to establish another location for unchurched people to hear about Jesus Christ.


“Mission” is not just about going around the world. Sometimes it is going down the street.


So today we worked. I walked more, sweated more and prayed more today than I have in a while. I told the girls that today wasn’t about them. I didn’t care how hot they were, or how tired they were getting. Today we serve. Today we work. This Easter we are going to give Jesus a present because long ago HE gave us the best present of all.


I never in my wildest dreams thought I would get to participate in “church “ today. My goal was to serve and work and I could have “church” later.


I was wrong…


God had another plan. All day I kept having these moments. Moments where I had to stop take a minute to savor what was happening. My first moment happened standing outside of the children’s service absolutely crying, tears running down my face as I listened to them sing to Jesus. One of the most precious things to me is hearing children praise God.


My second moment was much more personal. A glorious mom moment I will never trade. Now I don’t want Lindsey in full-time vocational ministry if that is not her calling, but I do expect her to serve Jesus somehow. I just never thought I would get to see it today. When I saw Lindsey standing by herself in a school hallway greeting strangers, and pointing them to the Worship Service, I almost couldn’t contain myself. Serving a Risen Savior, on Easter, showing others Christ, as a child, what more could a mother want?


I thought today was about giving God a gift, but He kept giving them back to me!


The place was packed, but I expected it to be. The launch team has worked so diligently to make it a success, and one more thing…WE SERVE A BIG GOD!


I have tried all weekend to wrap my mind around Easter and sacrifice. To not let it be just a fun holiday about bunnies, candy, and eggs…but to really explain the true meaning of Easter to our girls. To help them see that the new clothes aren’t as important as a new heart and a changed life. It is not wearing your best, but giving your best for His glory…so others can hear.


I must say, this has been my favorite Easter weekend to date. I am so thankful we serve a God who loved us enough to give up everything to be with us.


I know in Heaven… God smiled today as the first convert accepted Christ as her Savior. I am also pretty sure that my grandmother was watching, and smiling as she quietly overlooked my rhinestone flip flops.