Monday, August 10, 2009

I remember

I remember the church I grew up in. I used to think it was soooo incredibly big. It took forever to get from the sanctuary to my Sunday School classroom. When did it get so small?

There used to be a bell and you could pull the rope and ring it. I thought it was at least 10 miles up to the top of the steeple. When did it get so short?


I thought the stained glass windows reached almost all the way to heaven. And I know for a fact that the colors of the glass used to be more vibrant!

And then I went inside and sat down in a pew and looked out the window....and there I found them...all the colors of the rainbow!


It was so much fun to go back to this place where I spent so much time as a child. To see how small it really is and to sit and remember all the wonderful times I had in this building with all my friends from church.

That window is dated 1912. The church itself is 150 years old. The "new" addition was added in 1958. I was 7 and can remember them building it. Perkinsville is still just about 3 blocks wide and 5 blocks long. And the church still has an attendance of about 50 every week. Some things never change!

I remember looking at this window as a child. Mrs. Gentry was one of my Sunday School teachers. I thought she was very, very important because she and her family had their name on the stained glass window!


And it was always my favorite window. I just loved the green glass. But when you moved and the sun shines in just right....it will sort of change colors. At least it does when you are 10 years old!

The magic of stained glass - how it reflects in the light and becomes something completely different at night when it is dark outside. The magic of a child's imagination while sitting quietly hour after hour through all those church services.

The magic of going "home" and remembering all the things you thought you had forgotten!

It really was one of the best trips of my life!

2 comments:

liszha said...

What a beautiful sweet little church. You take me back in time. I grew up in Rotterdam and in my imagination the street was so big. When, years ago, I drove through it I was amazed how small and narrow it was and how little the field behind the appartments.

Anonymous said...

I hope that my windows bring sweet memories like yours.

Laura Goff Parham
State of the Art, Inc.
Stained Glass Studio
Knoxville, TN
SOTAGLASS.COM