What I did on the weekend
Warning. This post is entirely serious.
I did something this weekend that I have not done since before Cherub was born, four months ago.
I went to church.
I used to do this every Sunday, often two or three times in one day. It is quite easy to start to take thongs for granted, and even to become a little bit jaded. Coming back to church after a long absence was however, a truly awe inspiring experience.
The idea that the universe exists for a reason, and that it was designed by an all powerful God who in some inconceivable way knows everything about every single one of us and loves us all individually, is truly wonderful. And to join together with a group of hundreds of people who are all there to share a connection with God and each other is amazing.
We sang together, we read beautiful words from the Bible, we celebrated Father’s day, we took a moment to mourn the passing of Don Chipp, we talked about how our church could better connect with and help people in the local community. And I was close to tears for almost the entire time.
A brief sample of the beautiful words we heard from the Bible that day:
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
The creator of the ends of the earth
HE will not grow tired or weary,
And his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
And increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary
And young people stumble and fall;
But those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
They will run and not grow weary,
They will walk and not be faint.
Eventually, as a group of people talked about what they had learned from their fathers, the tears started as I felt lost in the beauty of it all.
I also felt incredibly challenged by the responsibilities that come with being a father to my two beautiful boys. I don’t know if I can be the parent they deserve. I don’t know if I can raise them well or be a good role model for them. It is terrifying. Still, just at that moment, there was a sense of hope that just maybe it will all be alright.
I did something this weekend that I have not done since before Cherub was born, four months ago.
I went to church.
I used to do this every Sunday, often two or three times in one day. It is quite easy to start to take thongs for granted, and even to become a little bit jaded. Coming back to church after a long absence was however, a truly awe inspiring experience.
The idea that the universe exists for a reason, and that it was designed by an all powerful God who in some inconceivable way knows everything about every single one of us and loves us all individually, is truly wonderful. And to join together with a group of hundreds of people who are all there to share a connection with God and each other is amazing.
We sang together, we read beautiful words from the Bible, we celebrated Father’s day, we took a moment to mourn the passing of Don Chipp, we talked about how our church could better connect with and help people in the local community. And I was close to tears for almost the entire time.
A brief sample of the beautiful words we heard from the Bible that day:
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
The creator of the ends of the earth
HE will not grow tired or weary,
And his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
And increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary
And young people stumble and fall;
But those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
They will run and not grow weary,
They will walk and not be faint.
Eventually, as a group of people talked about what they had learned from their fathers, the tears started as I felt lost in the beauty of it all.
I also felt incredibly challenged by the responsibilities that come with being a father to my two beautiful boys. I don’t know if I can be the parent they deserve. I don’t know if I can raise them well or be a good role model for them. It is terrifying. Still, just at that moment, there was a sense of hope that just maybe it will all be alright.
posted by I'm not Craig at 6:36 AM
2 Comments:
i'm don't follow organised religion i'm not craig but your last paragraph was beautiful. the fact that you are so aware of the responsibility indeed means it will all be ok. and yes, keep the faith that it will be. faith is a good thing. faith in yourself and your wife and other people to try to do the right thing.
I think turning up to church once in four months is not so much organised religion as really disorganised spirituality.
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