"What did Adam say to Eve the day before Chrsitmas?
Merry Christmas, Eve!"
Yep, I went there. A good friend texted me that joke today. I know it is horrible.
Wow, today was incredible. Incredibly INSANE! In a good way, I suppose, if that is even possible...
I had the most interesting experience today. I woke up this morning, pretty tired from working all night on the bulletin and just business in general, and took a little time getting ready... (like an hour). I got ready for the day, and headed into the church to print out the bulletin. It took about three times as long as I intended for it to take since the computer I was printing from had an older version of publisher, and reformatted what I made. I also had to make signs pointing the way to The Anchor worship service, organize music (which is an incredibly large task, if you've never done it). Today was mentally exhausting, and the service hadn't even started. And here is the biggest challenge of the day: Walmart. I had to get cookies and hot chocolate in large quantities, and hadn't had or made the time to get them in previous days. I dreaded it. I gave myself and hour to drive there, park, walk from the back, find what I needed, and stand in line, etc. As I was driving there, I kept asking myself why I was doing this. Was it really necessary? Why was I subjecting myself to this kind of madness?
Then I saw him. Just like it always happens, just like in every story. I was at the intersection in Sandfly, and I saw a man with a haggard look, loose, oversized clothing, beard he'd probably been growing for months if not years, limping down the road with a box of pizza and some sauce. I don't know this man's story. He could live down the road, not far from there, he could have a large family that was just a little hungry... or he could have been alone. It could be a day like any other day, nothing special about this Christmas Eve. And my heart ached for him- or rather for all he could symbolize. While I am not spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my dad, mom, and sister, my family or any other traditional loved ones, I am not alone. I have a church family, I have God, I have people who care about me. But who are those in this world who have no one? I saw this man, and I saw the lives and faces of a million other people who are hungry, who are tired, who live in poverty in my very community, who are surrounded by affluence but plagued by loneliness... I saw them. My heart ached for them, and a verse from the Bible came into my head: Matthew 11:28, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
When I asked myself why I was running to an insanely packed and frustrating Walmart to get something as silly as cookies and hot chocolate, I had an answer: Because I want to. Because I want to, in some way, through the work of a worship service, through feeding someone with cookies, even...to warm the hearts of someone who may have nothing with hot chocolate (I know, it sounds SO cheesy, but REALLY!)... I want to. Perhaps tonight, amidst the well dressed families, someone who was weary, cold, tired from walking, found their way into The Anchor worship service at Isle of Hope United Methodist Church. Perhaps someone in that well-dressed group just needed a moment to take a deep breath... and that space was provided for them. Perhaps someone has been carrying a burden too much for them and found solace in the community created in the service and in the church... My heart and mind was refocused, just as I asked God to do for me this morning. We as the church, me as a worship leader and director of a worship service and volunteers open our arms widely and cry out to the community that we serve and say, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest..." If we are to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ, are those not, then, the very words He spoke?
We can talk about worshiping God until we are blue in the face. We worship God in so many ways- we have so many methods and things that we do in a worship service to "facilitate worship". I am all about worshiping God- but today I was reminded how inward my worship had been- how inward my work had been. I have just been checking the boxes and getting it done, and worshiping on the side. God called to me to come, and my job and my heart is to cultivate a community of servants in the church to call out to others and each other... to come. There is room at the table, please come.
I've heard one too many Walmart stories within sermons... but now I see how going to Walmart really can be a life changing experience! Part of me feels like Walmart is the Devil, not blessed by God, and therefore as we walk through that valley of the shadow of death, God walks along with us, marking and lighting the path ahead of us. Maybe we all pray more when we have to go to Walmart... I dunno! I'm just thankful for the heart and desire to comfort those who need comforted.
Merry Christmas... Eve.
-Lindsay
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