Because He Lives.....!!

Christ's Church   Shamian Island    Guangzhou, China

This past week has been full of memories and emotions as we celebrated the three year anniversary of meeting Sierra in China.  I love this time as we pour over our more than one thousand pictures and watch the many videos we took.  One of my favorite memories is the Sunday morning church service we attended on Shamian Island.  I was moved to tears  many times that day as we witnessed the fact that the love of Christ is alive and abundant in China.  The service was an English speaking one...attended two by both local Chinese and many adoptive families.  The hymns were divided, two sung in Chinese....two sung in English.  One of the hymns we sang that day in English...was "Because  He Lives".  I had always liked it and much emotion overtook me as I stood there with my new daughter singing about how she "will be able to face uncertain days..because he lives!!"
As Sierra and I watched some videos this past week...we came across the video I took in the church as we were all singing that hymn.  It brought back all the feelings and emotions and I have been singing in my head for days.  This morning I woke up and again...the words were there..."because he lives...I can face tomorrow!"  Sierra and I got ready and drove to our church.  We helped our friend set home for our food and fellowship time after the service.  We walked up the stairs...sat in our pew and waited.  I opened my bulletin, looked it over and ....gasped out loud.  There ...listed towards the end of the service...the last hymn were going to sing...today...exactly three years from the day we sat in that small church in China...were the words...."BECAUSE HE LIVES!!"

 I turned to my friend and showed her  and quickly told her the meaning.  I sat there for a few more minutes and realized I had to share this.  I raised  my hand and waited for the pastor to  notice.  He stopped and nodded towards me.  I explained about being in that church three years ago...I mentioned how not too long ago sitting in a Christian church in China would not have happened...I told them about how exactly three years ago today, we had sat in that church in China and sang "Because He Lives" ...the same hymn that was listed in our bulletin today.  Only God!!!  Needless to say when it came time to sing...already my eyes were tearing up.  At the first chorus  I was unable to sing.  The tears rolled down my face and my friend handed me a tissue.  How was it that this hymn found its way into our bulletin today...of all days??
No one asked me  "Kathie  what hymn should we sing today??"  But God knew........he was with us that day in a small church in China and he was reminding me...... that he still is with us today!!  Its moments like this that I am so happy I have a blog so I can write about these moments in my life and




share with you all!!