Happy Sunday!
I love Sundays. It’s my favorite day. My husband and I met, got engaged, and got married on a Sunday. My favorite things tend to happen on this day. I don’t go to work, I eat a big Sunday dinner, occasionally take a nap, and best of all I attend church. Or shall I say, I watch church, now that my church is temporarily closed due to coronavirus.
There are quite a few places I miss going to. The movie theater, the bowling alley, dine-in restaurants (although some of these are reopening, I’m going to keep my distance a little while longer). Yet I would say one of the places I miss most is my church.
Sure I can watch our service streaming live online and I’m thankful to be able to get my church thirst quenched by still being able to participate and hear the word of God from my pastor.
But y’all…I miss church.
There are few places I feel a sense of peace. Actually there are 3. My house, my parents’ house, and my church. When I’m sitting in the pews worshiping to the praise music, feeling the Holy Spirit fill the atmosphere, I feel at home. I feel peaceful. When the pastor preaches a word that resonates somewhere in my soul, I feel full.
I didn’t feel I could have that feeling outside of my own home and my own experiences in prayer with God.
My Church
My church is a lot of things to me besides a place of worship. I met my husband there through a friend of ours. We had premarital counseling with our bishop and first lady. Our wedding ceremony was there. The majority of our friends we met there. My sister and family are members of my church as well; it’s where my niece and eldest nephew were baptized and where my youngest nephew was Christened.
I volunteer in the nursery and children’s ministry and my husband is head of the drama department. We make sure to attend the ministry events and support. I say all that not to say we are ‘model church members’ but to convey how much a part of our lives our church is. Not out of obligation but because we genuinely love our church.
Prior to moving here and finding my current church, I was a member of two other churches. My family attended on Sundays and I went with them but I never truly felt a like part of the church. Like so many do, I went, heard the sermon, and left.
My Home
The first time I attended service at my current church, I joined the church. I was by myself and nervous as all heck walking down the aisle during the altar call, my legs were moving on their own accord. I barely knew why I was there at the altar, until they asked me afterwards if I would like to join the congregation, and I said yes.
Afterwards, one of the ministers kindly showed me around and introduced me to everyone. I had never felt so welcome and at home in church before. I knew I made the right decision.
That day I gained a church family.
I hope wherever you attend church, you have a sense of family, fulfillment, and peace, too. If you haven’t found your church home yet, don’t stop looking until you do. There’s a church for you out there, even if you have to visit a few until you find it.
It’s safe to say when all this social distancing is over I will indeed rejoice and be glad to go back to my home: my church.
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