Back To Church

I'm a member of a United Methodist church in town.  I used to attend regularly, but when football season rolls around, it's hard to make it to church on the days the Jaguars are in town, since we usually leave the house no later than 9:30 am to tailgate before the game.  So, I got out of the habit of attending, and after football season, when I asked my (then) husband if he wanted to attend, he said no.  So,  I stayed home with him on Sunday mornings.

Then, in May 2009, when my (then) husband told me he wanted a divorce, I went to church the next morning, which was Mother's Day.  The service started off with men getting up, talking about their wives (mothers of their children).  I was in such a sad state of mind, I could not take hearing men talk lovingly about their wives, so within 10 minutes of the start of the service, I walked out and never looked back.
I went back on Christmas Eve 2009.  Christmas Eve was when we always spent the evening with his mother and sister, so I never got to go to the adult Christmas Eve service.  When the boys were young, we would attend the children's service, which usually started at 6:00 pm.  I always wanted to go to a later service but my former mother-in-law and sister-in-law liked to be back home by around 9:00 pm.  (After they left and the boys were in bed, we would spend the rest of the evening wrapping the boys' gifts.)

So, December 24, 2009, I got to finally go to the adult service, since the boys spent Christmas Eve with their dad and aunt.  But, I didn't go back after that Christmas Eve.  I spent Sundays just trying to catch up with the yard and housework and schoolwork, since it was all left to me to do now.  Also, it gave me a chance to catch up on some much needed sleep, since I haven't been sleeping much since May 2009.  I have to sleep when I can, since I usually woke up at 3:00 am and didn't go back to sleep.  On Saturdays and Sundays, I was able to doze back to sleep around 6:30 am and get another two or three hours of sleep.  So, I didn't go to church.

Football season for the Jaguars ended January 2, 2011.  Today is the first Sunday after the football season, and I went to church this morning.

I give some of the credit to a man (Rick) who has corresponded with me from the other side of the earth through the internet (and his blog).  He is the first person to give me the nudge to get back to my relationship with God.  I've been pondering it for the past few days (OK, it's been more than a week.)   Thank you, Rick.  I know there was Divine influence at work.
The other person is my Mary Kay consultant, D.

D is a lady I met when I first decided to join this particular church.  The church has a "new members class" that they hold over the course of 6 weeks or so before a person joins the church.  Since I was just transferring my membership from another UMC, I don't think I had to go to the class, but I went because I wanted to learn more about the UMC and, in particular, this church.  The class was taught by the senior pastor, so I definitely wanted to get to know him better.  D was in this class.  At the time, she was not my Mary Kay consultant (I didn't even use Mary Kay products), but this new members class was how I met D.

Last week, I emailed D about needing more Mary Kay products.  She emailed me back, inviting me to several activities she was attending...sort of acting like my social secretary (her words).  I had to decline all of them as right now, I am so busy, trying to wrap up the second grading period by grading tests, projects, and writing the semester exam.  But, one event I did not decline was the invitation to meet her at church.  Today the service was a concert by a group who was there last year.  They are a trio with harmonies that will bring you to tears.  Since I love music, I thought this would be the perfect time to get back to attending church regularly.

Here is the website of this group.  Mercy's Well    
You can decide for yourself if their harmonies are awesome or not.  Of course, after the service, they sold their products such as t-shirts, coffee mugs, and CDs.  I bought three of their CDs.  I wanted certain songs, so I needed to purchase two of them to get those songs.  Since they had an offer for purchasing three CDs, I went ahead and bought a Christmas CD.  I'm glad I did because I noticed another song that they sang today that I really liked:  "Who Is He In Yonder Stall?".  It tells the entire thirty-three years of Jesus' life just by asking the question "Who Is He?".

So, I have made a New Years Resolution today on January 9, 2011:  to get back to regular attendance at church on Sundays.  Who knows?  Maybe I'll even venture out and go to a Sunday School class after the service (since I attend the early service)!