Understatement, extreme.
In those days we mini automatons were dressed in polyester suits, clip on ties and the Brill cream was thicker in our hair than our actual hair was. We lined up for inspection, proper countenance and approved posture. Sometimes make up was applied to cover the bruises people might see. We didn't worry about the covered ones...
Of course breakfast was verboten until we returned.
It felt more like preparing for a military inspection than readying our hearts to Worship God.
I give my father a lot of credit. He would bring us himself, long after my mother refused to attend. Church has always been important to him and he insured we attended until our Confirmation, when we became responsible, as recognized by the Church, for our own attendance.
His responsibility was done.
Fast forward about a thousand years...
There is no Brill cream, polyester suits, bruises, shined shoes or ties for our children.
Breakfast is made for them.
Good sneakers, a T shirt without writing and clean, unripped pants is their uniform of the day. No crazy inspections....
... And still it is a huge battle.
Questions are fired like Nerf bullets. " Why can't we play our video games on Sunday? Why can't we play outside before we go? Why do you and mom have to be so mean?!?"
Every Sunday. No exceptions. No reprieve.
We have answered these questions nearly as often as we have breathed...
At Church, they are fine. They play downstairs until it is time for the service and the two youngest leave at the beginning of it to go to Church school.
They see friends and have fun while learning.
In the middle of these morning battles I am utterly convinced that we are the only family that experiences this. I listen to myself and my Wonderful Wife having battle of wills with these little badgers and I ask myself, exactly what do you think your doing? What are you actually accomplishing?!? Is this what God wants, dragging children to His house?
I contemplate just staying home...
Then I realize who would win if we did...
Not the kids. They may not accept it today ( or more than likely they do, but just want to play their video games) but they DO need to be involved in a home Church. They enjoy the friends and Pastors and people who teach them. When we ask what they learned, sometimes they even argue with each other to be the first to tell us, on the way home.
Not my Wonderful Wife. She loves going. She has an incredible support system of equally amazing moms and is a solid part of many of Temples ministries...
Not me. I look forward to Sermons. The great thing about Temple is that it doesn't matter who the Pastor giving the Sermon is. The Message is always straight from The Bible and spot-on.
I get to connect with Church friends. I get to Worship the God I Love in my own quirky and uncoordinated way...
The only winner from us staying home would be Satan.
Every family he manages to keep away from the House of God gives him delight. I know today that he is real and this fight is incredibly important.
So I bring my family to Church sometimes when some would rather not go.
If we are there, it gives God an opening to offer his protection, to work inside our hearts and win a battle that we ourselves could only lose, against an enemy unbeatable by any other than Him.
Jesus gets us thru the morning conflicts and out that door, on the road to His House.
He will always bring us Home... He always has...
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