Sitting in the pew on Sundays is positive input to my soul, the kind of energy that I need, especially during my pregnancy. I have been a member of First Presbyterian Church all of my life. Okay, well, I had a long standing pattern of Christmases and Easters only, over a decade, but belonging to the church for the last 4 years, being embraced by all of the people, my elders who value tradition, love and God, has been uplifting at the very least.
I joined the bell choir. I have always loved the sound of hand bells. They sound like angels to me. When I was pregnant, I thought my babies might hear them from the womb and think of heaven.
I love being in the sanctuary for bell choir practice on Wednesday nights with the orange evening sun beaming in through the stained glass. It's the same sanctuary where I sang in the children's choir, wore a robe to light the candles, said my wedding vows, and have taken communion and said The Lord's Prayer in unison with many of the same people a million times.
I am also a deacon. When the committee approached me about it, I gladly accepted. I am more than happy to help out in any way that I can. If you aren't familiar with the term, a deacon is a servant and minister of the church. By minister, I mean "serve, help, attend." Some of my duties include: greeting, passing the collection plate, tidying up the sanctuary, helping host luncheons, etc. We have monthly meetings after church to discuss the budget, The Shoe Tree, other activities or fund raisers and miscellaneous business. As a deacon, I am committed to regular church attendance and to doing my best to lead a life of service and gratitude.
After the babies were born, they gave us a baby shower. I could not believe the amount of gifts on that long table. There are very few babies at my church, so the birth of these twins had been eagerly anticipated, the event of the century. :)
There were knitted blankets, monogramed burp cloths, hand painted soap bars, handmade bibs, two personalized quilts, so many cute clothes and diapers, diapers, diapers...And so much more than I can include in this list. It was overwhelming. Everything we needed and more. One of our oldest members, a lady who sat in the pew behind me every Sunday wrote the sweetest note on her card. I cried. Something like, "I sat behind your mother in church when she was pregnant with you and she always took such good care of you and she always will." Yes, my hormones were still all over the chart, and I know I was emotional because my babies were in the hospital at the time, but that note just made me feel so special and loved...
Her words will speak to Emma and Ethan beyond the limitations of a lifetime. I hope these babies grow to feel the love that I feel when I am in my church. I wonder if Ethan one day might sit in the same pew and look up at the same scripture on the same wall...if Emma will marry her soul mate in front of the same etching of Jesus.
When we brought the babies home, Presbyterians started bringing us food. There was someone signed up for every Tuesday and Thursday for two months. I never knew how impossible it would be to cook, clean, and conduct life as usual while taking care of two newborns. It helped so much to have those two meals a week, something different to eat, and I didn't have to cook or, more likely, go get fast food...again.
When I went back to work, the Presbyterian Food Chain continued every Wednesday for the whole semester. Thanks be to Presbyterians, and
Thanks be to God.
No comments:
Post a Comment