Easter-ized

Howdy,

Y'know what the difference is between a guy who has lived all of his conscious life in a church of 40-60 people versus a guy who is visiting an Easter service so large that they have to borrow a school's auditorium? Or have you guessed already...

Folding chairs, we were reduced to folding chairs! I started off pretending that I was going to be okay in timidville, sitting about four rows from the back. But then I saw the green-cushioned chairs, which looked much more comfortable than the all-metal chairs I was currently sitting on. No one was going to notice, people were still dabbling with adjustments, so I went ahead and sat in the third-from the front row. My tushie thanked me. Two hours later, I was quite fidgety. I can't imagine what it would have been like in those metal chairs. I shudder to think.

I'll give the pastor credit. He tried. He tried darn hard to get me to stay after and enjoy the Easter meal. I see-sawed on the issue. The better part of me likes to think that I have the skills to introduce myself to a room full of strangers and get all kinds of chatty with them. Then there's the normal side of me that cherishes the one day a week I'm guaranteed no work. A nice couch at home, a stack of DVDs, and a sleepy cat all awaited me. I helped pack chairs into the truck, looked around the crowd... and the lazy side won.

On one hand, I missed my old church. Not one single person greeted me with "He is risen!" So naturally I couldn't respond with, "He is risen Indeed!" Sigh. The pastor did toss it into his sermon, but he had to say it again to get a response from us.

Looking at hand #2, I'll admit one thing: It's nice to look at a crowded room and know that you're among Christians. That there are hundreds of people around you that believe in God and want to do the right thing.

I'm not saying one service would have been better than the other. I'm not sure which one I would have liked better. But it's one more change I have to either get used to, or learn to do without.

Oh, how to worship God. It's a back and forth, I tell ya!