Cardbord Testimony: I Was Not Alone

After a long day of work I hope to find words to best describe my feelings about this video. 

I sat in the pew Sunday morning with Matt and Shelby on each side of me. As the video started playing on the gigantic screens in front of me I grab their hands. Shelby gave me a reassuring, “it will be okay, mom” as I squeezed her hand. 

In reality this video had already played in four services that morning, over 1,000 people in attendance on Sunday morning had already seen it and many of those people I exchanged pleasantries with during Easter morning brunch, but this time it would play with me sitting right there. The people around me would be able to say, “oh that’s her.” 

In reality they could say that about all of us. We pretty much all were in the same service that morning, I shared my fears, my butterflies, and my tears with my dear friends (old and new) who sat scattered throughout the 11 am service. I wasn’t alone. I knew I had a friend three sections over crying just as I was, when her statement flashed on the screen. I knew I had another friend who also was crying and had the unique pleasure of returning to the stage to sing after the video - she did and she did amazing. And another who shared a secret she kept out of the public for many years. 

And I think that is the key: I was not alone. 

I shared this experience with 12 amazing people, but I also share it with 2,000 (and that number will continue to grow). In the growing, we will each realize, accept and experience the overwhelming peace in the truth that we are each not alone. Though, our stories are not identical, we each had struggles that God has lead us through and now we sit on the other side. 

And as a roar of claps and cheers radiated from the audience Easter morning, my hope is that each one of my dear friends felt just how amazing grace is, how it can bring tears to your eyes (as it is doing to mine now), but still make you exude with happiness. 

This was special, this was good. Oh I am so happy right now and I am also happy that I got to watch the video again. I remember leaving church that day thinking, “wait, I was crying so much, I missed parts of it.” 

Cardboard Testimony from Seth Gehrke on Vimeo.