Family

It was a very emotional moment.  My babies were in the nursery so I was able to give our pastor my undivided attention.  His words broke my heart and healed me all at the same time.  At the end of the service yesterday, he spoke to us, his church, about how we had become his family.  He has lost three of his four children, and his remaining daughter will not speak with him.  He didn't speak of how he lost them.  Instead he described a man that was needing a family and needing love and found it in our church.  He described us as his brothers and sisters, as his daughters and sons and his grandchildren.  He voiced how grateful he is to have been led to our church and how much all of us mean to him. Through the tears filling my eyes, I could barely see him.

There are a lot of Sundays that I leave church and my heart, my mind, aren't in the right place.  I sit in church and my mind wanders.  I look around and I see families sitting together and I want that.   I want my husband there beside me.  I want my parents and siblings sharing these moments with me.  I want to be able to pass my baby to family and to grab up those babies that are a part of my family.  I sit in church and realize that most of these people have known each other their entire lives and sometimes I just feel lonely.  Not this Sunday.  This Sunday, I walked out of church with my babies and Brother Bill looks at my girls (after talking about losing his children) and with a huge smile says, "If I had great-grandchildren, I would want them to look just like you girls!"  This Sunday I walked out of church and realized I am the furthest thing from lonely.  There is so much love in our church.  I have family there.

I feel comfortable passing my babies to the members, and I love playing with their babies.  Every Sunday (usually during Children's Church) Eva gives Brother Bill a huge hug.  There's a woman in the choir, I think in her eighties, that told my girls, "Just call me Mamaw Rose, everyone does!"  And she tells them that she loves them often.  If we aren't there, it's noticed.  I have this awesome family at church!  And to top it off, I have an awesome family outside of church too!  Each one of them, no more than a phone call away.  They may not be sitting next to me on Sunday, but they're very much a part of my life.  I'm so blessed, so very blessed with these families and I am just feeling very grateful right now.