Church

This morning I was on my own with the boys for church. Kendall was at home, fast asleep, in between shifts.

There were exactly 2 kids at church: mine. That worked out great for me because I was on nursery duty. So we just stayed in the service.

In the past few weeks two women from the church died. Susie died on December 4th and Edna died a week later. They were two of the old-timers up here and both left a widower. This morning both men were in church. They were seated in there usual spots, one right in front of the other, both with an empty space beside them. At sharing time, Norman stood up first. As he talked, he got choked up. It was moving to see Adin, the other recently-widowed man, reach up and put his hand over Norman's. Then it was Adin's turn to share. When it was difficult for him to speak, a third elderly man sitting in the next row back reached up to put his hand over Adin's. It was neat to see the community they have here.

I have had a few difficult Sundays, but lately I have found them to be encouraging. Today I talked to a lot of people before I left. Many Sundays we are among the last few to leave. (Could it be a generational curse? We just can't leave! That's how it was for both Kendall and I growing up.) Just kidding, I think it's more of a generational blessing. Anyway, when we stay so long after church, I remind myself that I really am getting to know people.

The other notable event at church this morning was when Evan announced, "I have to go poop, Mom!" I think we have to talk about changing that to, "I have to use the washroom, Mom." Really, the people around us don't need to know the details of what he needs to accomplish there.