SIDE BY SIDE
Abiding Side by Side Gale Van Norman “LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” – Psalm 16:5-6 At the February women’s retreat, I shared a testimony of how Jesus rescued me as a child, wooed me back as a young adult and replanted me from Los Angeles to Wheaton as a thirty-something. I was replanted in a fertile land where my soul could grow deep roots in God’s Word and be strengthened by the local church. Twenty-five years ago, I walked into College Church for the first time. It was a Sunday in early March. It was the day Pastor Hughes returned to the pulpit after nearly losing his wife, Barbara, to a rare blood disorder. In God’s perfect timing, and thanks to holidays and guest speakers, Pastor Hughes preached a message from Luke about how Jesus miraculously healed a bleeding woman. The congregation’s reaction and the Holy Spirit’s presence were palpable. I did not know another soul at the church, but I knew I was home. I knew that College Church was where God wanted me to take root. That same Sunday, I began attending Pacesetters, the large singles ministry that met in the old church gym. The group was buzzing with activity. I met many committed Christians that first day— business professionals from throughout Chicagoland, teachers who had grown up in Wheaton and transplants like myself from across the country. Just two months after I began attending College Church, I was laid off from the public relations job that had brought me to Illinois. I was confused but confident
that I was supposed to stay in the Midwest. Kathy (Stephens) Chapek, a new friend from Pacesetters, just happened to work at a placement company that hired temporary employees for corporate assignments. Eventually, I was placed at Motorola and worked in its public relations department until I left seven years later to pursue teaching. Kathy became like a sister to me. We met each week for years in the Stupe at Wheaton College to share our lives and discuss Scripture. She discipled me in how to read the Bible and pray. Although we are both married and attend different churches now, our relationship is still going strong. My soul is enriched. Because my salary was cut in half when I got laid off, I needed to find a roommate to help pay my bills. Several people suggested I post roommate wanted notices at area churches and the college. God led a recently graduated Mindy Austin (that’s Mindy Rynbrandt to us now) to my doorstep. We roomed together for only six months, but she was one more person God placed in my life at a critical time. My soul was cultivated. Jim Johnston was the singles pastor at the time I first attended Pacesetters. He, and the pastors who succeeded him, encouraged us to plug into the larger church body. They urged us to become “church people.” I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I was willing to try. Kathy suggested I teach first-grade Bible school with her. I laughed and explained that I didn’t know the first thing about teaching and that children kind of scared me. She assured me it would be rewarding and that the hardest part would be just to arrive on time.
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