To The Mommas Who Made It And The Ones Who Didn’t Make It To Church This Morning

 

I’ve been known to joke that on the seventh day, God rested… and moms everywhere wondered what that would be like.

Let’s be honest, I’m all for rest. Rest is so important.

But I’m also a mom of a 6, 4, and almost 2 year old, and those restful moments aren’t always a reality. My altar and prayer closet are often more realistically my kitchen sink and shower. Rest in this season of my life doesn’t look it will in other seasons.

So, when I think of Sundays, I do not immediately think of rest. After all, it’s not like Sunday morning rolls around and serenity suddenly settles on our home. It’s not like the baby doesn’t wake up early wanting a bottle, or your toddler doesn’t want eggs and bananas only to remember how much he hates them when they are on his plate. It’s not like we wake up and everything is different just because the calendar says Sunday.

For me, Sunday mornings are just like every other morning except I have to add to my to-do list,

• Wrestle children into nice clothes
• Pack diaper bag/busy bag for service/snacks.
• Successfully leave my house with everyone in Jesus-loving moods ready to praise Him.

Easy, right?

Except, often… it’s not. Often, it’s exhausting… and often, I wonder if it’s all worth it. I’m just going to be standing in the hallway with the baby. I’m just going to be distracted by my toddlers who want to stay with me. We just haven’t been well, and we need today to recuperate. I have said all of it. Getting to church on Sunday mornings is W-O-R-K. And there are weeks we make it and weeks that we don’t.

So today, if you’re a momma who made it… I just want to stop and say…Way to go, sister. Way. To. Go. You got up. You figured it all out. You got everyone ready, and you even managed to get yourself ready as well. (If you’re like me, getting yourself ready means you threw on some mascara and lip gloss in the flip down mirror once your kids were buckled into their carseats.)

But joking aside, I know it was work, and it might seem like any other Sunday, but it was worth it. It was another week of teaching your children the importance of gathering with like-hearted people and worshiping God together. Taking our children to church is not just about helping them understand the practice of going to church, it is about helping them connect with the people who make up the Church. And you did that. So, we are all over here cheering for you. I wish I could reward you with a nap or something.

But if that’s not your story this morning, if you didn’t make it to church with your kids, we totally understand. I get it. Sometimes, life happens, you know? It just does. Sometimes, weeks of life happen. Sometimes, months. Sometimes, it is sickness, or a work schedule, or a baby that just won’t go to the stinkin’ nursery without screaming until they come get you.

But, friend, all of us (you, me, and the mom who did make it to church this morning) likely agree that we don’t fail our children by skipping service. We aren’t bad mommas because we are still in our jammies when the pastor is saying his closing prayer. It’s okay. There’s grace for it. Because we all know that it is the other six days a week that are responsible for how our children will view God. It is what we say and do in our homes, and with our lives, and what we live out in our communities that teaches our children about God and His Love and how we share it. That’s where the real heart work happens.

Because church isn’t just a place we go. It is who we are – all of us… those who gathered together and those who just couldn’t make it today.

And ALL of our hard work is worth it – the Sunday morning struggles to simply show up and the daily foundation laying that introduces our children to our Jesus.

So no matter how you spent (or are spending) your Sunday morning, rest in this Truth today… Leading our children to the Lord may be hard work, but we have a good shepherd who leads us as we turn and lead them. And that is one Truth in which we can find rest.

Cheering you on this week, friend!