“MY PEOPLE”
But Ruth said, “Do not press me to forsake you in turning back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may Yahweh do to me, and more, if anything but death separates you and me.” ~Ruth 1.16-17 LSB
This Lord’s Day will mark the 8th anniversary of our first visit to Buck Run—in 2017, it was on the 11th. This was immediately after my resignation from my former pastorate.
As I have often related, we had not made advance plans or even speculation where we would serve following my resignation [we had prayed!], and certainly Buck Run was not on my radar. All I knew was that there was a Buck Run Baptist Church in Frankfort, and that Hershael York was pastor there. I knew this from my previous personal acquaintance and associations with Pastor York in Lexington. But during those previous 35 years in Lexington, I had never attended a Buck Run service—at neither site. I hadn’t even been to Frankfort but a handful of times! We’ll always be grateful to Pastor York for his invitation to attend that Lord’s Day.
But, from the first welcome at the door by the face and hand of Bruce McCutchen (does everyone agree that there could no better first welcome than Bruce McCutchen?)—then later, after the service by Pastor Wesley Noss—to all the other greetings we received that day, we instantly felt right at home and among ‘our people’ from that first encounter. And, I might also note that as we made our way to the front of the seating area (of course), who should we find there to welcome us but our long-time dear friends, John and Sherry Wehrle?
We were seeking a ‘home’-church where the Lord would lead us to worship and serve, and we knew we had arrived! There was no desire or need to even visit anywhere else.
“Hitherto Thy love has blessed me—Thou hast brought me to this place!”
We love and thank God for “our people”!
~Dave Parks 