thank you for coming to church.

Dear family of six,

Thank you for coming to church last week. I didn’t see you come in, but I saw you after the service. I was in the middle of a conversation, but I caught a glimpse of your older, teenage son as he played with his infant sister in her stroller. I saw the way he looked at her, the beaming smile he carried on his face, as he entertained her while you, Mom, spoke to a friend. It was but a brief moment, but it gave me joy to see a family enjoying being with each other, treasuring a small private moment in a public place. Your son likely doesn’t even remember the interaction, but I do. It gave me hope that maybe my kids will still love each other at that age, that the stereotype of the sullen, bored teenager who hates his family is not always true. I am encouraged to keep guiding my family in that direction and to keep praying that God would strengthen the bonds we are building now in these little years.

Dear family with two teenage boys,

Thank you for coming to church last week. I sat behind you during the service, and I saw your boys quietly bickering with each other. I don’t know what the problem was, and maybe you, Mom, didn’t either, but I saw the way you handled it. You didn’t reach over and give them each a smack on the arm; you didn’t shoot them the “mom glare” and mouth “STOP IT” at them. In fact, I don’t even remember what exactly it was that you did. What I do remember, though, is the attitude you had while you did it. You were gentle, calm, and loving in your brief reaction. Your boys stopped bickering, and I don’t know how it played out after church back at home, but your response in the moment encouraged me to respond with gentleness, calmness, and love to my own children in every moment. At some point, my own two boys will be teenagers at the same time, and I imagine there will be many times when their anger with each other rises rapidly, in private and in public. But I pray that God will help me to remember the example you unknowingly showed me and respond to them in the same way you responded to your boys, in the way our Father responds to us.

Dear exhausted family,

Thank you for coming to church last week. I spoke with you before the service, and you admitted that every week, it’s difficult to stay awake during the service. You aren’t bored, but you are exhausted and in need of rest. You continued on to your seats near mine, and I saw you striving to stay awake and alert for the next hour. You could have chosen to stay home. You could have chosen to sleep in. And yet, every week, you show up, and you choose to fight for fellowship, for worship, for community, for your relationship with our Lord who is the One who gives rest. I don’t know if you fell asleep in church that day or not, but I know every week it is a struggle, and I am encouraged by your faithfulness to attend despite your fatigue. I pray that the next time I am tempted to skip church due to my own exhaustion or struggles, whatever they may be, that I remember your example and commit to faithful fellowship with our church family.

Dear widowed woman,

Thank you for coming to church last week. I saw you out of the corner of my eye as the musicians played, and I saw joy radiating from you as you sang along. Your smile spread across your face, infecting your eyes, your posture, your presence. You have been walking with the Lord for a long time, and I want to be the kind of woman you are. I can see your firm belief that God is good and that He does what is good, despite the grief you have faced. You may not have even been aware of your smiling singing, but it caused me to sing a little louder with a smile on my own face. I’m encouraged to pray boldly for the peace and the joy that I see in you.

Dear family with the very young kids,

Thank you for coming to church last week. I saw you sitting in the back with your infant and your toddler, and I heard the whispers of your toddler and the cries of your infant. Your arms were full of little humans, toys, snacks, and crayons. I assume you weren’t able to sing as passionately as you wished or to listen as intently as you hoped, but you were there. Your kids don’t have any idea of the lessons they’re learning from you now, and it’s likely that you don’t have any idea of the lessons you’re teaching them, either. It would be easier for you to stay home with them and to tune into church virtually. But with all your efforts to keep the kids still and quiet, with all your efforts to join in the worship, you embodied what it looks like to worship as a family. I am encouraged by seeing you making an effort to build rhythms and routines of church life into your family life. I need to remember how important it is to create those rhythms and routines, even when it feels pointless, and I pray that God would help me to fight for faithfulness in the seemingly pointless patterns of our week.

Families or singles, young or old, male or female, your presence is precious. Your presence is encouraging in ways you don’t even know. Thank you for coming to church.

Hebrews 10:24-25, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

All Creatures (Sing the Harmony) by Shane & Shane