Paying—And Praying—Into The System

Okay, peeps.

Something truly miraculous has happened.

(And I’m madly, deeply serious about the miraculous part.)

We have finally reached the young family stage where church isn’t excruciatingly painful.

Can I get an AMEN, HALLELUIAH.

Now, before I get too far ahead of myself, lemme back up.

Many times of late, I’ve told the hubby something along the lines of: you know, San Antonio isn’t terrible. If it was anywhere other than San Antonio, I’d probably like it a lot. 

Ha.

Translation: I actually think San Antonio can be quite pretty—especially the area where we live. Hills and a natural terrain. And enough civilization and shopping to keep us plugged in. The only problem is the location of San Antonio. Farther South, with longer seasons of heat, and farther away from family and friends. Boooooo.

So, like I said—I might actually like it here...if it where anywhere other than here??? You get me? ;)

But really, I consider this attitude a wildly massive upgrade from my mood in the first few months post-move, when I was sobbing in the shower every night, and just living the worst few months of life that we’d experienced in, well, maybe ever. (Criminal contractors had a lot to do with that.)

But I’m finally to the point of trying to continually count the blessings of our current situation and environment. A one of the most major blessings is...

Our new church.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I actually cried thrice during the first sermon we heard on our first Sunday visiting this church (it was about Job, and needless to say, I was particularly sympathetic to the story of a man going through so many trials.)

From the get-go, the hubby and I have been so grateful to so easily find a church home that allows us to really fill up our spiritual tank with messaging that speaks to us, and—massive bonus—it’s such a great environment for the kiddos!

Of course, the girlies experienced their first VBS here, and it was a huge hit.

And then, last week, after months of attending, we finally figured out that the 11 o’clock service has a kids’ church. And, holy cow, did things get even better for us!

Basically, after only about 20 minutes of the service, the kiddos make their way across the church campus to one of the school buildings (this church has a beautiful property and a school that goes all the way through high school). And they spend the rest of the service there, singing songs, coloring, having snacks, and receiving a children’s message. And—surprise, surprise—they love it!

Here they are last week—Chicklet’s cheeks filled with animal crackers, ha—happy and jolly after kids’ church. :)

I mean...twenty minutes of devoted time for the hubby and I to sit and truly focus on the sermon while the kiddos have fun??? Amazing!

Now, two important things to note:

First—ironically, the kiddos have actually been sitting (and coloring) through the lengthy sermons at our new church quite well, of late. So when we discovered kids’ church, we thought about not sending them. But it was the hubby who decided to go for it, observing that it could only be a win/win for them to receive a message and some worship time that was geared just for them. And he was right.

And, second—our past church had a similar setup and we tried to make use of it. But, alas, it just wasn’t as smooth of an operation, the kiddos didn’t particularly adore it (I mean, they tolerated it), and we ended up having to hang around with them, in order to make them comfortable. So it’s just so fascinating, and really a blessing in disguise that we have this fresh start at a church that just appears to be a really positive and robust environment for us as a young family in this very exact life stage of ours.

Something else to note—Little Man experienced his first alone time today, as they separate the kiddos into Pre-K and younger, and then kindergarten through 5th grade. So the girlies are together during (big) kids’ church, but he’s still hanging with the younger crowd. 

Last week, the staff members let them stay all together since it was their first time, but this week, we ripped of the bandage and put them in their respective “classes,” and he did great! Actually told us he wasn’t done coloring when we came back to pick him up, ha.

Definitely excited about this positive momentum as he heads of to preschool in one more week (gahhhhhhh!).

And here are my nuggets enjoying their church ice cream, as they had a little blessing of the backpacks celebration for the new school year. :)

I mean...I wish I could truly convey what a MIRACLE it is to get to this point in our worship life.

We’ve been through so much pain and angst as a family that really felt strongly about attending service, even when our kiddos were so young that we heard not one word of helpful messaging because we were so focused on keeping everyone quiet, and in line, and non-squirmy. Kid after kid after back-to-back, three babies in three-and-a-half-years kid!

OYE.

And when the hubby and I had a moment to remark upon this miraculous, new life stage after dropping the kiddos in their classes and heading back to the sanctuary for the sermon, our convo when something like this:

Me:

Can you believe where finally at this point???? I mean...all that pain, for sooooooo long?!

Him:

Yeah, I can believe it. We paid into the system for years, and this is our reward.

Hahaha.

So true, my hubby. SO TRUE.

Now, next step: actually trying to meet and befriend some of our fellow congregants. We’ve been happily attending, and we chat with people on occasion, but I can only imagine how much richer our church life will be when we really get to know some of these peeps.

Baby steps. Baby steps.

:)

Happy Sunday, peeps!

And also...Happy It’s Officially My Birthday Week, peeps! ;)

P.S. Happy BDay to Aunt Amber. :)