Ridgell's Originals

We are back from our cruise with our small group from church. I was right: great food, great fun, great friends. It really was wonderful. One day we visited a very old, very historic church in Halifax, Nova Scotia and in some ways my experiences there impacted me more than anything else on the trip.

There were a number of plaques on the wall honoring various members of that congregation. One in particular struck me as incredibly ironic. It was a tribute to a soldier who had made the "ultimate sacrifice". Maybe it was just me, but it seems that Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice. I have a hard time comparing anything a man might do to what he did. You would think a church would know that. By the way, it was in Canada, not the U.S. so I really don't see how it could be anywhere near the ultimate (heavy dose of sarcasm here).

As Marsha was walking around, she started to step up into one section of seats. Immediately the attendant came running over and told her she was not allowed there because it was reserved for royalty. It just seemed funny to me that a church would have clearly marked segregated seating. Not much unity in Christ there.

Experiences like those really make me appreciate our spiritual heritage in the restoration movement.

But one last experience impacted me even more. Tim Yandell is a good friend and a wonderful singer. Phil Ware decided that the acoustics in this old building would be perfect for Tim to sing Amazing Grace. He talked him into it and Tim cut loose.

I choked up, teared up, and was reminded again of the amazing grace that saved a wretch like me.

I would tell you more, but we all agreed...what happened on the cruise stays on the cruise.