Big Miller Grove Missionary Baptist Church

112^th Church Anniversary – 1909 to 2021

During our 112^th Church Anniversary, we are reminded to EAT. PRAY. LOVE. Coming out of this pandemic we can fully appreciate the Word of God, our church, and our church family by continuing to study and experience

the Word of God, constantly praying, and love like Jesus commands. When you think of it, that is what’s important and what matters most in the world.

Eat. Pray. Love. is a book (author Elizabeth Gilbert) turned movie based on a true story about capturing a year of “spiritual and personal exploration.” Liz Gilbert (played by Julia Roberts) thought she had everything she wanted in life: a home, a husband, and a successful career. Now newly divorced and facing a turning point, she finds that she is confused about what is important to her. Daring to step out of her comfort zone, Liz embarks on a quest of self-discovery that takes her to Italy, India, and Bali.

During the Coronavirus pandemic, we left our church on March 15, 2020, our turning point, which led us to rediscover and reinvent ourselves spiritually, mentally, and even physically. When we could no longer attend “physical church,” some thought we would do just what we’ve been wanting to do all these years, right? At least that may have gone through our minds. But to the contrary! We wanted nothing more than to attend church again; see all of our church members; and most of all, have that human contact like before. We miss the physical church! We miss the interaction! We miss the hugs! But what we rediscovered is that church is really in us! Thanks to technology, we attend virtual church activities via ZOOM and our communication conference line. We interact with church members virtually, but the hugs are irreplaceable, and we lack the human interaction no matter the technology. From a distance, we attend “drive-by” birthday and anniversary parties, baby showers, etc. We deal with it. That has to suffice.  Spiritually…each of us has to work out our own salvation with God. So, let’s see what Eat. Pray. Love. entails.

Eat (Psalm 34:8) – When you think of the word, Eat, automatically you think of physical food. However, on a spiritual side, eating takes on a whole new meaning.  When you are called to “… taste and see that the Lord is good!” our appetite is peaked in a different way. Without God’s Word, we long to fulfill an emptiness, void, thirst, and hunger. Eating the Word of God leads to perpetual fulfillment. This verse serves to awaken our spiritual appetite, but we never get enough, and we can never be too full. It simply means, “come, see and experience for yourself that God is good to you and good for you. Try Him out!”

PRAY (I Thessalonians 5:17) – Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake. I pray the Lord my soul to take. We all were taught this prayer from our mother’s womb. God bless mommy, daddy, sister, brother and oh yeah, bless grandma, too. Amen! As we mature in Christ, however, our prayers become more intentional and deliberate – praying for the conditions of the world, basic necessities, salvation for loved ones, healing, deliverance, freedom, restoration, patience, peace, joy, etc. But no matter what we pray for, we’re reminded to pray without ceasing. That means under all circumstances never stop praying. We must remember that God loves us, and He is constantly listening because He longs to have a relationship with His children. Just like mortal parents and children, we long for a relationship with each other. Keep uttering your soul’s sincere desire to God and watch Him work things out on your behalf. Keep on praying!

LOVE – (John 13: 34-35) – God first showed us his love. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16). God gave us his most precious possession and Jesus laid down his life for the world…unconditional love! No one else has ever made such a sacrifice as this! All Jesus wants us to do is to follow this; “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye love one to another.” Keep showing your love to this world and let’s keep witnessing to help to convert one person at a time. Afterall, it’s what the world needs now. Love!

As we celebrate our 112^th church anniversary, remember to EAT.  Study the Word of God continuously and see how it transforms your life.  PRAY. No matter the circumstances, whether in good times or bad; when you’re happy or sad, just pray. Your burdens will be lifted. LOVE. Our church was built on the love of God, the love of the Word, and the love of people. And don’t forget to love yourself. We cannot go wrong when we EAT. PRAY. LOVE.New Paragraph