The Nichols Family Goes to Church...Lord, Have Mercy

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:19

I've been feeling frustrated with church lately...mainly by my not being in it. A slew of ear infections have kept Libby out of the church nursery and me home with her throughout the winter. Now she seems to be on the mend, and we are back in our seats at church...with the addition of Adam, who has aged out of the toddler nursery and has joined us in "big church." All in all, he's done better than I expected, but he does announce (loudly) at the end of each song/prayer/announcement, "OK. Let's get out of here." So even when I'm there, I'm not really there.

As the service began on Sunday, Steve and I fell into our man-on-man defense -- he took charge of Adam, and I was handling Andrew. What with keeping an ear out for Adam's next inevitable public announcement and helping Andrew with the children's bulletin, I was quite aware of my inability to focus on the whole reason we were there. And while I experienced the familiar frustration -- when am I ever going to get to concentrate and worship? -- I had an overwhelming sense of assurance that this is just a season. Training for these little guys has to start somewhere. What a privilege to teach them, first to sit still and quiet, then to be able to sing and listen, and hopefully eventually to take to heart what they hear. It's just a little rough getting out of the gate.

And, as if in response to me letting go of my frustration, God gave me something to treasure up in my heart. Andrew, who hates all singing and who as a baby used to yell at me to quit singing the ABC's, began reading the words on the screen and singing, "Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy on me." Watching my little boy mouthing the ancient kyrie did something to me. It's why we're there with our children. It's why we go back with them week after week -- May through October anyway ; someone's always sick in the winter -- for what sometimes feels like another round of parental punishment, picking up loudly dropped pencils and discouraging little feet from kicking the seats in front of them. So I may not be fully "there" in church for a while, but I will be looking for treasures where I can find them.