with happy hearts. Always easier said than done. Sunday mornings rarely go
exactly as planned or the same as any other Sunday morning at the Lino
house. The one constant is that Daddy has long been at the church when the
rest of us finally roll out of bed. I can always count on being by myself to
face whatever surprise Sunday morning holds. If I wasn't prepared for
surprises, I'm sure I would be a little crazy.
Today's surprise wasn't actually a surprise. She had been running a fever
all weekend. The fever was up over 103 (probably just the fourth ear
infection in 3 months - not worried) at midnight and sleep was light and
restless when it came. The problem was that today at NEHBC was the day we
were saying 'yes' to God. As a church, we were getting on board with His
plan for our future. It was to be a huge day in the life of our church.
Baptisms were planned for after worship. So, I continued with my plan to at
least make it for one hour to sit in the lobby and participate in worship
through the TV screen.
As the pastor's wife, my plan to make it to and through worship with four
young children does not involve my husband. Not only is his mind focused on
what the Lord wants him to share with His people, but countless other people
are vying for his time and energy on Sunday mornings too. Don't worry, we
are not neglected. He worships with us and steps in to the family dynamic
when absolutely necessary (translation: discipline issues.) Please don't
hear that as a complaint.....this is our ministry and I am thrilled to be a
part of it. My role as his helpmate is to minister as I am able and give him
the freedom to minster to the people. I am completely on board! I always
have a family or two on standby to help with the children in the event that
I spend the worship hour in the lobby with a sick kid. In the lobby, we do
our best to sing along, open Bibles if possible and engage with the sermon
as much as I can. One special family is also willing to pick up and care for
any of our children if I need to stay home with some of the sick kids. We
usually make it to church and have a meaningful worship experience.
The effort it takes to get us all to worship is completely worth it. Our
week is set into motion by what happens on Sunday morning. If we don't make
it to worship, our week just flounders as we struggle through the week
because we were not set or recalibrated on God and His Word with His people.
The time we spend with God's people rejuvenates us and encourages us to live
on mission throughout the week. Being in worship, no matter how difficult it
was to get there, teaches our children how important it is to us and the
Lord and having even an hour of worshipping the Lord Jesus in the lobby with
a toddler will always be better than being at home missing out on the
blessings of being with believers and lifting up His Name.
Even though my String Bean is still not well, I am so glad I made the choice
to do whatever it took to get to worship this morning! I will always
remember our family being a part of the NEHBC commitment to continue His
vision.
PS - No, I don't take extremely sick, contagious kids to church.......we are
talking ear infections, allergies, etc. No vomit, flu or any of the other
stuff you don't want from us.
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