“Thank U, Next”

I'll cut right to the chase with this one. My childhood church has done so much for me but that doesn't mean I have to stay. Also, if you are like me and you feel like you want/need to find a church home that gives you something deeper, you don't have to leave in silence. It's perfectly ok for you to speak up and say what you are feeling. Change doesn't happen through silence. My childhood church has given me so many memories and great moments but I want it to be better for the youth after me to look back on.

So like I mentioned in a previous post, I was raised in the church, been going since I was a month old. The congregation has watched me grow and they became my family. The older ladies of my church come up to me to this day and tell me how on Christmas and Easter they would look for me in church service to see what fancy, fluffy dress my mom had me in. (My mom would go to New York every year to find my Christmas/Easter dresses).

I was born two days before Mother's Day. My dad went to church on Mother's Day and made an announcement about my birth. "The Princess has arrived" he said and everybody cheered. He went on to speak about my weight and height and how my mom and I were doing. Mother's Day of 1996 was a special one.

Women from my church knitted me blankets, quilts and dresses. They bought me toys, clothes and shoes. They say, it takes a village to raise a child and my childhood church was my village. And they still are. They always will be. I am not blood related to anyone in my church, but I have my mom mom's and pop pop's. I have my aunt's and uncle's. I have my grandparents and my God-parents. I met my role models through my church. I met someone who is like my big sister through my church. My church has given me some amazing, wonderful people who I am forever thankful for and I have my church to thank for that.

They all looked out for me. From all the stories that I hear, I used to run around the church as a toddler and everybody would just keep an eye on me as I'm making my rounds around the church.

Do you remember in grade school we had those fundraisers where you would get a certain prize when you reach a certain amount? Well, I was always that kid that received all the prizes. My market was my neighborhood, my parent's work places and you guessed it, my church. My church always came in clutch for me.

Fast-forward to 14 year old me, I started to study abroad in high school. My freshman year, I traveled to Italy, Sicily and Greece. Sophomore year, I went to Australia. Junior year, I went to England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland. I fundraised money by baking and selling cookies every Sunday after church. I had my go to people who always bought cookies so I made sure to seek them out first.

Now it's time for me to get prepared to leave for college. My church gives out scholarship money to the graduating high schoolers and when I graduated high school, I was 1 out of 10 seniors who received money. I am so incredibly grateful for my church. I only named a few but my church definitely impacted my life positively.

To my special, lovely, supportive members of my church who have deeply influenced my life, you know who you are and I am 100% thankful for you everyday. To my play aunt's/uncle's, thank you for always being there for me and loving me each step of the way. To my grandparents, thank you for guiding me and giving me the strength to speak out when something isn't right. To my God-parents, thank you for always making sure I am good. To my big sister, thank you for helping me strengthen my relationship with Christ and for the devotionals.

To my childhood church, thank you. I may be leaving you, but I will never forget you.