#Microblog Monday
When my mom broke her ankle and I was trying to help take
care of her house and my own, we stopped attending church. It was the only way
I could stay sane. Saturdays are often when we go out and have fun as a family
or run errands that are too exhausting to do during the week, like go grocery
shopping. That would leave Sunday afternoon for cleaning and laundry, but when
I needed to dedicate Sunday afternoons to cleaning my mom’s house, I needed to
find time to get stuff done around my own home and so church was the logical
loser, in my mind.
Well, my mom is doing better and more able to get around and
keep her house in shape, so I haven’t needed to spend long hours cleaning her
place to keep her from going totally batty. Yet, we still haven’t returned to
church. Getting out of a habit makes getting back into it very hard. We rush
out of the house 5 mornings every week. Monday through Friday I am the task
master, keeping all three cogs twirling in the right direction while
simultaneously trying to look presentable when walking out the door. It is
exhausting. I hate mornings. Finding one extra day when we don’t have to
rush, when I can make fluffy chocolate chip banana pancakes with eggs and
bacon, and then sit and enjoy it with the kids, makes me a much happier mama. I
do feel guilty about not being in church, but this glorious freedom is so hard
to relinquish! Sunday’s have become our lazy, do-what-we-want-and-nothing-else
day.
I know someday soon I will drag us out of bed and rush us
out the door to sit dutifully in our pew, but right now I’m finding I lack the
motivation to do so. Another slice of the problem pie is that I don’t feel
attached to this church. Granted, I know it takes me a long time to actually
think of myself as a member of any given church. I think I attended my previous
church for over three years before I really felt I could call it mine. I know
it’s me and not the church, but it certainly doesn’t help persuade me to add a
sixth harried morning to our schedule.
The final issue regarding our church attendance, or lack
thereof, is Primero. He simply doesn’t want to go to church and I simply hate
going without him. I have it in mind to strike a compromise with him in which
he agrees to attend once a month to stave off the questions of where he is and
also to have him be there for celebratory days like Easter, Christmas,
and whatnot. The fight with him to go is just another reason why it’s easier
not to attend. I know it’s lame because certainly me and the little ones can
go, but at this point it’s fuel to the not-going fire. I’ll get it together,
I’ll find the inspiration, just probably not this weekend….
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I hear you on this. We also have 6 mornings per week spoken for. It's hard to make it 7 mornings per week and never have pyjama days.
ReplyDeleteI've never been a church attender, so feel free to disregard anything I say. But I imagined you and your family relaxed on a Sunday morning enjoying your breakfast together, and feel that that is honouring your children and yourself and your faith as much as a fractious trip to church that the young ones won't understand, and the older one doesn't want to attend.
ReplyDeleteMaybe church every two weeks or once a month would be a good compromise?
Your pancakes sound yummy. But I've never understood why Americans would have eggs AND pancakes? Or is it eggs for you and pancakes for the kids?