C.S. Lewis wrote, “Those are the golden sessions, when our slippers are on, our feet spread toward the blaze. . . . Affection mellowed by the years enfolds us. Life – natural life – has no better gift to give.”
Indeed, sir.
Forty-four years ago I joined the singers of Jimmy Swaggart Ministries with wide-eyed expectation, and entered into a purpose that I could not even grasp. Last Sunday I returned to that same beautiful sanctuary and to the family that I always respected, and have come to genuinely love.
For an hour and a half, the world class singers and musicians of Family Worship Center joined me to sing songs from the 80s (mostly). Joseph Larson and I sang a duet, and my sister, Kay, sang the glory down from the piano. What a night!
The return to Baton Rouge was an opportunity to revisit the past. They were days of glory, growth, and hard work. We were a part of something magnificent that God had birthed. Fast forward to Sunday – God is still at work in the same sanctuary, the same ministry, the same family, and it is exciting to see. I seriously doubt that Donnie or Gabe have ever plowed a field with oxen, but they have felt the weight of the mantle as surely as Elisha, and they bear it honorably.
It is a night I will treasure forever; another gift from the great Giver of all things good; an invitation to push my slippered feet toward the blaze of His wonderful plan and His magnificent wisdom (Is.28:29) and to celebrate the golden sessions of four decades ago.
It is a pleasure to share it with you, my Friends…
Janet Paschal 