As I stood outside the house where the meeting was to take place - surprisingly not a Church - and thinking 'bout my madness, the host greeted me at the gate, and invited me in.  "Peter said I should expect you.  Him not coming tonight... something else at Church.  But you are O.K.  We will look after you." I followed his lead into the house, walking quickly before I changed my mind, and entered into a world of noise and cheering.  A group of about seven men were watching Manchester United whip Liverpool in the Champions League Football Final. A group of women were some place else talking about God only knows what. 

A few moments later the meeting began - singing, prayer and Bible Study.  I felt totally out of place, but nobody treated me like a stranger, nobody looked at me suspiciously, and they actually asked my opinion during the discussion. 

They were dissecting a quote from the Bible that I had never heard before: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."  Somewhere in the section called ‘Romans'.  What kind of purpose God could have for someone like me?  How is he going work good out of my family splitting up?  It was the first time that I heard that there might have been some godly purpose in my troubles, and I really wanted to find out more. 

Surprise, Surprise!That's why I accepted an invitation to actually go to church the following Sunday, and I have been going there some weeks now.  You know, church is not as strange as I had thought it would be, and though my specific questions haven't been answered as yet, there is some satisfaction knowing that at least I am involved in activities of a "higher" quality, so to speak. 

And to my surprise, guess who I see at church: Jenny has started going too.  We've talked a few times, but the hurt still strong on both sides, so that's all we do.  But I can't help thinking about the coincidence.  Jenny and I never used to go Church and now the two of us "buck up" at church.  Is there purpose in this, God?

This Christian thing is still strange to me, and I don't know how much of it I really want.  But for the first in a long while it seems as if there might be some real hope and purpose in life. 

I hope I'm not wrong.

David Pearson is a member of Swallowfield Chapel.  Married to Cynthia and the proud father of two sons, David is a Department Head at the Jamaica Theological Seminary, where he lectures in Theology, Conflict Studies, Philosophy, Greek and Bible.  When he's not husband-ing, fathering or lecturing, he's writing, reading, playing/watching football and cricket, and volunteering with community-based organizations.