A few weeks ago, while discussing things to do while visiting Pennsylvania, I was reminded that I always wanted to visit Old Swede Church but never did. I had spent many years living in the suburbs of Philly as an adult and always tried to avoid the city as much as possible. 

A few fun facts about the Gloria Dei Old Swede Church...

• It's the oldest church building in Pennsylvania
• It's the oldest surviving brick building in Philadelphia
• It's the oldest ongoing congregation in the United States
• It was built in the 1600's
• Betsy Ross was married in this church
• Benjamin Franklin put lighting rods on the roof of this church
• Sailors would come to this church at night to get married. They would hang a replica of a ship from the ceiling in hopes they would one day return.
• My great great great grandfather was a preacher at this church
• My grandparents were married at this church

On January 8, 1955 my grandparents were married in this church with approximately 250 in attendance. My grandmother has always played such a huge role in my life and when she passed it was hard for everyone who loved her, including myself. Prior to leaving PA and moving to Florida, I wanted to check the church out, ride by and take a photo or two, but I never did. As Sedrick and I were discussing ideas, I had a vision of my grandmother standing on the church property, preparing to walk down the aisle. I imagined what she was experiencing, nervousness and excitement. I thought about my own upcoming wedding and standing there in her shoes. 

I added it to my list of things to do. When we began our sightseeing tour, visiting the church had slipped my mind. Once I remembered, I put it in the GPS and much to our surprise, it was right around the corner. We pulled up to a huge piece of property that had multiple buildings on it and looked to be a historic site. I wasn't sure how to get to the church itself and felt a bit irritable at the thought of trying to find it. My idea was to spot the church, snap a photo, and be out of there. But God had other plans!

Sedrick took it upon himself to ask one of the many people in the vicinity for instructions. The woman he spoke to just happened to be the groundskeeper. He explained to her that my grandparents had gotten married there and we were there visiting. She insisted that she take us to the office where they keep all the records and we speak to the woman in charge there. When we got to the office, the door was locked and we assumed she had left for the day. As we turned to walk away, she came to the door as she was about to leave. The groundskeeper explained the situation and the woman invited us in. She looked up their marriage information and shared all the details with us. The date they were married, where they lived at the time, even the witnesses of those in attendance. She emailed me all the information the following morning. 

Next the groundskeeper unlocked the church and allowed Sedrick and I to go in and spend time alone. It was a very surreal moment. As I stood at the back of the church, I could feel myself in my grandmother's shoes, preparing to walk down the aisle to my grandfather who was waiting for her at the alter. 

At one point I sat in the pew and a vision ran through my mind of watching my grandparents get married from the perspective of a guest at the wedding. The experience was very surreal and very emotional for me. My grandmother  raised me since I was born and played the mother role in my life. She was unique and one of a kind, truly a woman of God who made a huge impact not only on my life but everyone who came into contact with her. 

There are no coincidence's with God. It was no coincidence Sedrick just happened to talk to the groundskeeper, or that the woman in the office was still there. It was only God who gave me that vision a couple weeks ago that led me to this church in the first place. My trip to Pennsylvania was truly ordained by God and this is only the beginning of my journey with Him that week. He's a good good Father and I'm so blessed by Him. 

Stay tuned.... a bigger God story is coming next....A Father's Love. You won't want to miss it. If you'd like to receive new blog post notifications you can subscribe. If you'd like to leave a prayer request or a testimony please feel free to do so.

May God bless you!

Much love,

Holly W <3