Encouraging Words

Talked to my former pastor, where I long ago surrendered my life to the Lord.  His words of encouragement and his listening ears were of great comfort today.  He and his wife have been longtime mentors and I value their friendship and unconditional support and love. My initial contact with him  was at a psychiatric hospital many years ago.  My newborn twins had exhausted me to the point of near hysteria and I had sought treatment for mental health for the first time in my life at the age of 27.   I did not have many visitors the week I was hospitalized, but Pastor came every day around lunchtime to sit and visit with me.  He was nothing like I had imagined a Christian would be.  He never flinched when I was crude.  Furthermore, there was not even a trace of judgement in his face or behavior.  When I was released, my family continued to attend his church for a year before I truly understood what God's love was and it was then that I made a decision to follow Christ and not the world.  There were many persons in that church that led me to that decision.  They did not speak the words of the Bible, but they demonstrated the love of the Bible.  These people loved an unloveable person, over and over and over again.  I finally realized that the love I had found was a "supernatural" love, for no one had ever loved me unconditionally.