blessing at church, not what you think
Yesterday we attended church as usual. Overall the service was good but nothing out of the ordinary. The service itself is not where the blessing came from.
There were two young families seated in the rows ahead of us. One was a couple with three children, one a couple with four. Nothing unusual about that. I mean all churches have some young families, right?
young families in church
What blessed my heart was there very obvious enjoyment of each other and enjoyment of the service. There was a lot of interaction and what seemed to be a real interest in the goings on during the service. I was blessed because it made me realize that in an age of broken families, there are still intact ones. I’m quite well aware that their lives might not be as great as they looked. But I’m an astute observer and judging by their free exchange with each other, their facial expressions, and their body language, I could tell they were authentic.
I share this because sometimes I don’t see the importance of the organizing church. Don’t misunderstand me. I still attend and when we’re up at our cabin we attend.
But I go to a big church and sometimes I can feel swallowed up and think my presence doesn’t really matter in the scheme of things. But what if these two young families had thought the same thing and ended up staying home? Then I wouldn’t have been blessed.
blessings
And let’s take it a step further, what if other people were looking at my husband and me and thinking how wonderful to see a couple obviously in love and better yet, liking each other. Maybe we were an inspiration to those who think a good, long-term marriage is impossible these days. Maybe we gave them hope.
Our interim pastor said something last week about why we attend church. It struck a responsive chord with me and I remembered it today when I looked around. We really don’t ever know how we might be a blessing just by our attendance.
So the next time you want to sleep in, think about the fact that maybe it’s your presence that will make a difference in someone else’s life. Maybe you will be the blessing.
blessings
God bless and I hope you have a good day.
