Choosing Our Religion

**Note: This blog is not meant to offend or upset anyone. It's written from a pure though naive heart searching for the reason why we are so blessed. Also, I sometimes just say what ever is on my mind without thinking...so I apologize in advance.

Now that we are parents, we decided it's time to introduce our boys to religion. Neither of us are over the top religious but we do believe there is something greater than ourselves and we have been blessed beyond our comprehension. We weren't comfortable about leaving our boys with complete strangers (church nursery) but now that Tucker has been in daycare for almost a year, we're kinda okay with the idea.

So our search for a church began. At the first church we attended, we went to the contemporary service at a Baptist church. Given my only true recollection of church was the Wynona First Baptist Church, this was a huge awakening for me. The scripture was shown on big screens on the walls. The music was modern and nothing I had ever heard. People were raising their arms and swaying.

When I went to church as a child, the only thing you heard from the congregation was a quiet "Amen". That was it. There was no clapping, no "Hallaluah'ing", not a peep out of anyone. This is what I thought church was. So needless to say, I wasn't comfortable with this church. I don't know if it was the contemporary service or just the church itself. By the time we got home after church service, there was a welcome note with a bag of popcorn and a 2 liter of pop on our doorstep. And as anyone who knows us knows...we're not a pop house. The week following this service, we were called, emailed and mailed information. Overkill. I felt more like a customer than a parishioner. Like they just wanted our business.

Alec grew up Methodist so we decided to try out a Methodist church the following Sunday. We dropped the boys off at the nursery and attended the traditional service. The Methodist do things a little different than this girl is used to but I liked it. So we went again. And again. And again. And now this is my church of choice.

We sing songs I don't know - the ones I do know, I call "Baptist songs": Leaning on the Everlasting Arms, Just As I Am, Up From the Grave He Arose...And although I cry every time we sing one of these songs because they remind me of my grandma, they make me happy and I feel like I belong. We say the Apostle's Creed which I sure was called the Apollo's Creed. And we say the Lord's Prayer (I read from the bulletin because I still don't have it down!). All of these things are new to me, but I like them. We're the youngest people at the particular service we go too. That's okay. I like being surrounded by grandmas and grandpas. It's comforting.

One line of my sorority's creed is "To find the peace and serenity of a Divine faith". As I sit next to Alec in the sanctuary, our boys safely playing with the other kids in the nursery, I can't help but feel peace and serenity wash over me.

We signed up for a Wednesday night parenting class and a dinner-for-8 monthly social event. And now when it's time to walk around and shake hands, we actually step out into the aisle and move up and back a few rows!

The few Sundays when we've played hooky, I felt empty. Like I missed something. Even Tucker would ask if we're going to church. Uh...nothing like a 2 year old calling you out!

Going to church as an adult is completely different than as a child or teenager. I understand the messages. I feel the community and faith of the church around me. As a kid, I was just ready to get over to the cafe and eat my chicken fried steak! During Just As I Am when the preacher asked for "every eye closed and every head bowed" my sister and I would sneak out to get in line at the cafe.

I'm sure our boys will be challenging, but I hope we're instilling in them a good start to their spirituality. I hope they will be grateful for their many blessings. I hope they go above and beyond what's right and wrong and have hearts full of compassion, grace and forgiveness. I hope we give them the knowledge and choice to make good decisions. I hope we are setting a good example for them.

I'm excited to begin this new journey with my family. I think I'm finally at a place to appreciate and understand faith. And I like our church. I feel comfortable and welcomed. I think I'm getting what all the hubbub is about!