Why I Didn't Quit Church

I recently read a blog post about a family who decided one day to quit church. It made me think back to those tough Sundays when my own kids were younger. We still have some tough days, especially when church is at night, but it isn't like it was when I had a 6 month old and an 18 month old or when I had a 6 month old, a 3 year old, and a 5 year old.

You see, I have a husband who values church very much. He is in church with us every Sunday. For most families that means that parents can divide and conquer. For us that doesn't work because my husband is a pastor. His being a pastor doesn't make it easier in the pew though.

I remember being pregnant, having two crying, fussing kids, and putting them in my arms, with them practically falling out of my full arms with a full belly in the way, crying as I made my way to the back of the church. It was not an easy day, to be sure.

This wasn't an isolated event. Most Sundays were hard. I tried different ideas that other moms suggested, snacks, coloring books, little quiet toys, and getting rid of all those things and only using the pencil in the pew. I learned some tricks of the trade and what worked best for us.

But that didn't make it easier for me to actually hear the sermon. It might have helped keep the kids from crying every Sunday (although my guess is that the reason they don't cry every Sunday now is simply because they got older not because of any of my tricks of the trade), but that doesn't mean that I don't have kids touching each other and me, climbing on and off my lap, whispering to me, asking questions, and so on.

I didn't quit church though. It wasn't even an option.

Why?

Because church isn't where I go to worship God. Church is where I go to receive Him, and this momma (and you too!) needs Him. So I go to church, I hear the pastor pronounce the forgiveness of sins, and if a kid cries when he does that, I go up to the altar and I get the body of Christ placed into my mouth and the blood of Christ poured into my mouth. I can't miss that! The forgiveness of sins won for me on the cross are given to me in a way that no wiggly kid can take away.



I might have missed a sermon or 410 sermons since my oldest was born, but I have not missed receiving the gifts of Jesus won for me on the cross.