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From the Heart

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No Piñatas in the Bounce House

By: Renee Pharis,  July 28, 2017

My dad was recently reading through a contract he had signed to rent a bounce house for VBS at the church he pastors in Texas.  It contained the usual terms you would imagine finding in this kind of document.  Adult supervision required, no sharp objects inside, liability waiver, etc.  But one particular line caught his attention and made him a little quizzical.  There, hidden among the legal jargon, was the phrase “No piñatas in the bounce house”.  I am sure we can all understand what those words means, but why they chose to enumerate it is another question.  

When I moved to Tallahassee last August, I was completely alone and beginning the daunting adventure of law school.  I struggled in my search for a Christian community that truly welcomed everyone, not just the people who seemed to fit in. After making visits to several local churches, I still felt like the piñata. I felt out of place and unwelcome.  Not quite an adult yet, but still not a college student anymore. I didn’t know where to belong. 

Church shouldn’t be an assembly of individuals who are all in the same stage of life.  It shouldn’t be a place created for just the ‘good’ people or those who seem to have it all together.  Rather, a church should consist of a community of diverse people who desire to build each other up in Christ.  In Acts, Peter said, “Now I really understand that God doesn’t show favoritism, but in every nation the person who fears Him and does righteousness is acceptable to Him.”  (Acts 10:34-35 HCSB)

From my very first Sunday at TRBC, I felt welcomed like that.  There was no clause in the contract excluding my stage of life or my faults.  By the second Sunday, I had friends looking for me to sit by them again.  By the third Sunday, I was having lunch with my new best friend.  Other members have met me for coffee and Bible study, welcomed me to their homes for holidays, and even cared for me when I was sick.  Children and and grandparents alike have loved on me at TRBC.

In Revelation 7:9, John said: “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.”

John wasn’t just talking about the young people or the old people or the white people or the black people, the wealthy people or the outcasts.  He said we will ALL be there standing before the throne!  So what’s the point in excluding anyone now?  I am so privileged to have a small picture of what that will look like one day.  TRBC is a truly a place where everyone is welcome, just as they are.

We may not ever know the situation that drove the bounce house company to say “no piñatas in the bounce house”.  They probably had a pretty good reason. It is kind of funny to imagine the little 6 year old’s fire truck themed birthday party where an overzealous father swung the bat a little too hard, popped a hole in the wall and brought the whole castle down around everyone.  But I am so thankful that TRBC doesn’t close its doors on the piñatas or anyone else.  Through connection with other believers of all ages and stages at TRBC this past 8 months, I am already gaining an entirely new and deeper understanding of God’s Word and His love for me.

Thank you for welcoming me so fully into your family this past year.  I am so grateful that our stories have intertwined!

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