Grace Gives Us The Keys To The Kingdom of Heaven
Our small church decided many years ago to save money on janitorial services, and so the leadership has divided the card-carrying church members into cleaning teams to clean the Lord's House on a weekly basis. Each team consists of roughly five families on it, and so it works out to be about once every six week our rotation comes up. I really don't mind cleaning the Lord's House at all, but it sure seems like our week always falls at the worst possible time. But we've been church members for many years and I have the keys to the church, and so I can go anytime between Thursday morning and Sunday morning to do our part without having to coordinate with the rest of the team. Generally a list is put out for us to choose an undone item or items and check off what we've done.
This week was okay, though I really didn't have time to go and clean, it just so happened that I was going to the ladies' Bible study at church tonight and decided that I would just stay after Bible study and do the cleaning. My job this week was to clean the kitchen in the fellowship hall, which meant to clean the countertops, sink, and mop the floor.
All the ladies left Bible study and that left me alone in the fellowship hall kitchen cleaning away. For safety's sake, I locked myself in the fellowship hall by clicking the deadbolt behind me. Everything went smoothly and quickly and I congratulated myself on finishing before dark, because frankly, it gets kind of spooky there when you're all alone.
Bravely I clicked open the deadbolt to toss out the bucket of water I'd used to mop the floor with, stepped out into the waning daylight and onto the stoop to empty the bucket. It took me only a second to toss out the contents onto the grass there next to the door and I turned to go back inside.
Uh-oh. 
The door was locked. Despite me opening the deadbolt to get out, somehow the door handle was still locked and when the door closed, it locked tightly -- with my keys and my cell phone on the inside and me with an empty mop bucket on the outside. Alone.
Thanks be to God, that the Hispanic pastor who we sponsor and lives in our mission house on the premises was home and so I walked over there and knocked. Red-faced  I explained the situation and he graciously lent me his keys. Hurriedly I put away the mop and the bucket, scooped up my purse, keys, cell phone and tote bag with Bible and Bible study book, locked up, returned the keys and headed for home.
I called my husband to ask him how long it would have been before he came looking for me. He was very gallant and assured me that I wouldn't have had to wait very long, but I suspect he would have had time to wonder if the ladies were gabbing after Bible study, then time to wonder, then get angry at how long it was taking, before he tried to call me and eventually get in his car and tried to retrace my steps.
But all's well that ends well.
Matthew 16:19 "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven . . ."
I'm so glad that I'll never be locked out of the kingdom. That's one key that never leaves me, never forsakes me, can never be lost.
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Author: savedbyegrace
Location: Cumming Georgia USA
Gender: Female
Age: 53
Blog Entries: 262 (archive)
Blog Comments: 1649
i was saved by the grace of god 35 years ago and fell away, so far away that i wondered for a time if i had really been saved. in his grace, he brought me back to himself 18 years ago. i'm married for 28 years, 2 kids. my youngest...
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wow. this is kinda hard. i was saved when i was 15 years old at an old-fashioned tent revival. i was a "jesus freak" of the '70s. but then i fell away, waaay far away. i fell so far away that when the lord brought me back many years later,...
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You have the best stories that coincide with exactly what I need to hear. Thanks Gracie, for being beautiful and following God.