For Sunday Morning
This one’s for the woman who doesn’t have the luxury of applying her make-up
in the passenger seat while someone else drives.
This one’s for the woman who took all three of her kids to 3
different Sunday school classes and survived one “no-I don’t-want-you-to-leave-me!”
tantrum. This one’s for the woman who snuck in during the middle of the third
song and sat down in the very back, the one for whom just making it is a
victory in itself.
This one’s for the momma who feels small, like everyone
notices that there is no man present and wonders about it. This one’s for the momma who dreads the cue to
“turn and greet somebody” because all you see is husbands and wives and this
magical land of perfect families and you forget you belong here.
This one’s for the weary one, the bone-tired one desperate
for a touch from God, the one who wants to sink into her pew when the minister
talks about serving because just getting to church is really all you have to
give.
This one’s for the one who overcomes temper tantrums,
self-pity, lost mascara, missing shoes, slow drivers, and the worry that maybe
you don’t fit in because you don’t look how you think church-goers should look. This one’s for the woman who puts her children above herself, the one who
pushes back the lies of the enemy, the one who tries to be transparent, the one
who chooses to live in community with other believers, the one who seeks after
God’s face with all her heart. This one’s for the one who doesn’t always feel
like being that woman.
This is for you.
This is for me too.
Maybe you need to know that it is really hard for me to get
to church right now. Maybe you need to know you aren’t alone. Maybe you need to
know that I see you. Maybe you need to know that the church is made of misfits,
of broken, of sinners, and that the enemy would like nothing better than for
you to think you don’t belong. Maybe you
need to know that sometimes in this following-Christ life, the way we feel
doesn’t match what God requires.
Do it anyways.
Do it for your children. Do it for your husband (or the one
that may be in your future). Do it for yourself. Do it because it’s worship,
because it’s sacrifice, and because it’s community… and all are important. Do
it because the church needs your voice. Do it for the woman who is struggling
to get to church too. Do it because you are keeping the enemy from getting the
victory.
In this uncomfortable space, in this desperate and lonely
place, I have seen God work in my heart. I have fallen deeper in love with Him.
My sufficiency has decreased, so Christ’s very present and abundant grace has
increased in my life.
Sometimes I feel like I barely have anything to give… what
could I possible bring to the body of Christ? Tired, weary, barely wanting to
go to church, and never making it on time… what do I have to give? And somehow in this place, God reminds me: Your
salvation is free. And My love is yours. You cannot do anything to earn it.
You just have it.
My pride hates all that I am learning, but it’s kind of an
amazing thing to behold.
God. Is. For. Me… and that truth cannot be shaken from me. I know know it.
I can hear His soft voice:
Rest in me. I have
prepared a place for you.
And that raising
children (and supporting your husband) business? That’s kind of a big deal.
And that mom who is
sitting by herself? You know what it’s like to be her, go love on her for Me.
So maybe instead of closing with a question, how about I close with a challenge? How about you find someone at church today who is all by their lonesome and after you ask for their name and how they are, give them that look... you know, the you are welcome and you belong here and I don't really care what baggage you came with because I got some of my own too and how about we learn to follow Christ together look. (Is there such a look? I think there should be. :))
By Grace,
Amanda Conquers