Got Church?

This morning, I went to church. Shocking, I know. It seems like it's been forever since I've been to a worship service outside of a holiday or special occasion. Honestly, I think I had lost faith in church during the past few years. I haven't lost faith in God, but just the institution of the church. When we first moved to this area, we "shopped" for a church, but didn't feel like any fit. They just didn't feel right. Then, we had Ava and...well, she was just not the kind of baby that you could drop off in a nursery and leave for a couple hours. Now that she's two and more verbal, I'm thinking that it might be okay to try it out. So, when my friend told me at a recent playdate about her church and how much she loves it, I figured it couldn't hurt to go.

The second shocking news? (Shocking for those who know us, that is!) The church is First Baptist. Yes, a Southern Baptist church! Pick your jaw up off the floor, mom...I'm serious. And, you know what? I loved it. It felt like they were speaking directly to me - like HE was speaking directly to me. I went to the 9:30 Sunday School/Bible Study class and then the 11am Service. The class was so welcoming and interesting. The leader of the group was very personable, funny, and down-to-earth. The sermon was fantastic - the orchestra (yes, ORCHESTRA complete with STRING instruments!!) and choir were great. It was more of a Praise and Worship service than the more traditional services I grew up with in the Methodist Church. But, it was not too contemporary - honestly, it felt a lot like Church Camp where Ryan and I first met. It felt familiar, comfortable, and authentic. After the service, I went down with my friend to get her kids from the nursery. Nursery? It is an entire WING of the church with rooms for children based on age - by month, not just year! They have pagers for parents to take with them in case they need you to come back for any reason. The kids sing songs, do crafts, have snack, play with toys, etc. It looked like a really lovely place for children and I would feel comfortable leaving Ava there. I think we'll try it next week and see how it goes.

Attending church and redeveloping my relationship with God is going to take some time. I have never really been "good" at praying. I've sent out a lot of "pleas" - you know "Please, Lord, help me to do the right thing" "Please, Lord, be with so-and-so during their time of need." but I haven't fully developed a prayerful relationship with Him. I often felt a bit...well, uncomfortable. I guess I'm such an analyzer, such a logical thinker, that it's been difficult for me to open myself up in that way and talk to someone I can't see and who doesn't speak back in a traditional way. I believe in Him, was baptized and saved...but just having a conversation with Him has always been somewhat tough for me. But, the message I took from the sermon was that you can't - and SHOULDN'T - go it alone. God wants us to reach out and share our faith with our friends. We are supposed to be needy of others. We need others to pray with us, share the good times and bad. We should admit that we need them and risk putting ourselves out there to share His word. We also need to cultivate relationships in His name and the pastor talked about how it takes work to keep a relationship healthy and thriving. I have long believed that to be true with regard to marriage, but I guess I sort of felt like friendships either worked or didn't work. Guess I need to re-evaluate more than just my relationship with Him, huh?

Until next time, I hope you have a restful Sunday.
-Amanda