Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.​​  Psalm 95:2 (NIV)

Tears. Joy or sadness, suffering and pain, exuberance and hilarity; a salty liquid response to the array of emotions we often experience sometimes even in a matter of moments.

I used to say I wasn’t a “crier.” I would still like to think that, however, my closest friends have recently begun to tease whenever I share stories about Mariners MV… “Oh, yeah. Don’t mind her. She cries when she talks about our church.”

Three years ago I moved to Orange County for a career position I had accepted. My best friend from college lived here, and her roommate invited us to check out Mariners MV when she heard I was looking for a church community to call home.

The first weekend I attended a service I was overwhelmed in the best way. I felt immediately welcomed and invited in, even before I stepped inside. A woman roughly my age was walking from the parking lot at about the same time. She hurried a bit to grab my attention—she just wanted to compliment me on the boots I was wearing, and we started to chat on the way in. From our small talk she discovered it was my first time at Mariners MV so she made sure to show me the coffee area and where to sit so I had the best view of the stage (remember, there was still a wall in the middle of the room).

I began to watch the seats fill in around me as people walked in. There were individuals of all ages and life stages, hugging and laughing and worshiping together.

As I watched this community in front of me, I started to cry.

It was hard to get the words out as I sang through the tears, “Thank you Lord,” I whispered.

Over the last three years since that day, I have been blessed to spend time as a volunteer on the youth ministry teams and recently transitioned to a staff position on the Mariners MV team. My story inside these walls has had the full range of tear evoking emotions, and I know so many of us could say the same for reasons similar or perhaps opposite.

During this time of year, we pause as a church family to share our stories – stories of gratitude and generosity, loneliness and trial, joy and restoration, thankfulness and hope. Next week we will gather on Thanksgiving Eve to reflect and worship together. I encourage you to invite a friend to experience the same thing we experience when we come—a church family. Come rest in thankfulness with us this week.

See you on the patio,

Kasaundra