*If you would like to share your story, please let us know. This section is dedicated to the testimonies of the women of VCC. We all have a story to share...here's mine.
Flora Washburn
My story begins in a town called Modesto, California. It is a farming community in Central California that has grown to be quite large. Born to Italian/Portuguese, Catholic parents who taught me a lot about faith and family. I have one sister, but we have a very large extended family on my mom’s side – the Borrelli’s. My dad’s family was much smaller. I loved spending time at Nana Borrelli’s farm, playing with my cousins. My dad’s parents lived in Monterey, and we would visit them frequently so I would get my ocean fix and can still smell the salt air and hear the waves crashing against the rocks.
Much has happened since then. I started college, got sidetracked, went to a merchandising school, thinking that I wanted to be in fashion, met Steve Washburn, got married and started a family – so much for career, which was just fine for me at the time. This was the time of the hippy movement, counter-culture living and eventually, for us, the Jesus movement. For many people it was a lot of turmoil; for many of us growing up during this time, it was a shaking of what was as we tried to discover who we were and what we wanted to do with our lives.
Steve and I left the city (San Francisco Bay area), headed to Canada and then back to Northern California where we raised our three children – Nicole, Lori and Sai. Our trip to Canada (4 years) was unique in that this is where we both accepted Christ. Fellow hippies who left the United States had met Christ in a little church in Grand Forks, British Columbia. One of them happened to be our neighbor. It was through her influence and the wonderful influence of people within the church who loved and accepted us all that we discovered the meaning of knowing Christ and his influence in our lives. Their examples of personal suffering, the teaching we received and the fellowship helped to build a rather solid foundation. Missing family and believing it was time to go home, we left Canada and moved back to California. Steve took a job in a small mountain town in Northern California named Quincy.
Many wonderful things were happening spiritually in California at this time. The Jesus movement brought many of us closer to God and to one another. We were fortunate enough to have a wonderful mentor who had a church in the San Francisco Bay area. He invited us to join the School of Ministry his church, Zion Fellowship, was starting. We did. It was a wonderful season of growth. When we graduated, we went back to Quincy to plant a church. It did quite well for a couple of years, but then discouragement and ill health came and we resigned. We stayed in Quincy, attending a church in Reno, Nevada, about an hour and a half away. Steve was offered a job in Southern California and we moved. When we look back at these four years, we see those whose life’s were changed and were thankful for the experience. We loved living in Quincy. Our kids grew up there. We still have friends there that we stay in touch with. I can still think of the women who influenced my spiritual journey and gave advice on family and marriage.
It took some time for us to adjust to Southern California. It was much busier and a lot larger than what we were used to – but it had the ocean, warmer weather and we quickly adapted. So much happened during the fifteen years that we lived there. There was a spiritual nosedive, climb back up, support from friends, church and pastor, I finished my masters in theology, Steve joined the church staff, I worked for a Christian publishing company, involvement with church ministry, motorcycles, ocean, mountains, family, grandkids....We grew to love it. When it was time to leave, I confess it was difficult, but the blessings that have come from our move to Kentucky have made it wonderful.
Steve and I live in Richmond. Our daughter, Lori, and her son Gage, attend the Vineyard and live in Nicholasville. Our eldest daughter, Nicole, lives in Atlanta but is moving back to Lexington. Our son, Sai, lives in Southern California. We have 5 grandchildren. We first started attending the Vineyard when it was at the Carmike. We knew from the beginning that this was where we wanted to be. We felt at home from the beginning.
I have to pause a moment and talk about the spiritual journey. There have been many influences in my life starting from the time I was a child growing up in a Catholic home. I rejected these teachings in my late teens and tried to find God on my own. This led me to Eastern Philosophies, meditation and a hunger for God in my life. Finally, six years later, my neighbor in Grand Forks, BC, talked to me about Jesus. I knew then that even though I had been taught so much about God growing up (a true love, awe, prayer and respect), I never grasped who Jesus was. Thus, my relationship with Christ began. Jesus is woven into every aspect of my life. There are times when I wonder if I do enough. There are times when I doubt. There are times when I ask myself if I really believe. And then I read a Psalm or a scripture or hear a worship song, and I know that my life would be empty and meaningless without Jesus, without Father and Spirit – without God. God is my hope, my encouragement, my friend, my salvation. There have been times when I thought that the only way I wanted to serve God was in a particular church or Christian ministry. I had it all figured out, but God in his wisdom led me down a different path.
All of life is a spiritual journey. Psalm 139 says it so well. This is truly one of my favorite Psalms because it is about life and who we are in connection with God, who he is and who he is in our lives. I read this Psalm and see the marvelous tapestry that is woven from a person’s life. I also see the river of life with its creeks and tributaries, its meanderings, sudden drops and curves as it winds its way to its final destination. Psalm 139 talks about this journey – at least this is how I picture it. I would encourage you to take a moment to read this Psalm and think about your life’s journey. As you do, remember this life is a journey; we have not yet arrived. Do not be discouraged but encouraged that the God who knew you when you were a mere thought in your mom’s womb, is the same God who sees all that is in your life and in your heart and will continue with you on this journey.
Psalms 139:23-24 (NIV)
Thank you for the opportunity to tell my story.
Megan Smith
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