Our son has a Little Tikes truck. In the winter time, we
bring it inside. Every day, it’s driven around our kitchen and living room;
through the hall of our main floor. Almost every day I hear a little voice say,
“Bye Mom.” I ask, “Where are you going?” Our boy responds with, “Starbucks” or
“Church” 99% of the time. The first – you be the judge of that one. Maybe Mom
has a bad habit she needs to kick. Come to think about it. Nah. I’m not kicking
that one any time soon. It’s a treat for a lady who’s about to welcome our 4th
baby in under 5 years. But, in all seriousness, our son’s second response has
had me reflecting.
“Church” is a location we often frequent. Sundays, MOMs
Group, planning meetings for Mom, dropping expense sheets off, refilling the
MOMs Group storage area. Our two kids are in tow for almost every one of my
adventures. And, here’s the thing. The building that houses our church
community is a place they love. And, this is something I am so incredibly
grateful for.
I am not naïve, I know there will likely be a time in our
life that our children do not want to make the 10 minute drive to church; to
sit in the seats of the building that has become so familiar to our family.
But, I pray that we are building a foundation of love for a place that they are
always welcome – where Jesus is so evidently present and where God calls us by
name. Maybe, in the process of making their own way, they will not make it a
priority to visit God’s house on a weekly cadence. Sure, that will make me sad,
but here’s what I do hope. That they remember the days they gleefully ran
through the halls of our big church, where they chased their friends round and
round in the lobby and their mom had to apologize to church patrons on a
regular basis, where their parents spent a few dollars on coffee cake and
donuts after every service, where the Children’s Ministry staff knew them by
name and loved on them so well, where the fountain was a great place to wash
their hands, where they got to hand out programs to a bunch of people “all by
themselves.” I hope they remember the times they were “talked to” by Mom and
Dad after screaming out in laughter as the prayer ministers prayed with our
hospitality team before service. I hope they remember the times they got to so
joyfully and proudly asked the maintenance crew to open the doors to the “cave
area” under the church stairs to retrieve needed items in storage.
Oh goodness, there are seasons where it’s hard. We sit in the atrium during service for several months after giving birth to a baby. I visit the nursing room smack dab in the middle of service many weeks in a row. Our toddlers go through seasons of tears when we drop them off for Kid’s Church. We shove granola bars and milk in their faces and tell them to eat quickly as we make the 10 minute drive to our church building. But, through all those seasons, even on days when I wonder why we even came, I realize that we are planting seeds.
Those tiny hands being dipped in the fountain, those little
feet running the hallways, those mouths eating coffee cake after almost every
Sunday service… those same hands, those same feet, those same mouths are going
to be the Church’s future disciples; His future disciples. If there are days
when you’re wondering if it’s even worth it to get all these little people to
church, the answer is “yes.” It is 100% worth it. These seeds we are planting
right now in our tiny children’s hearts may take many years to grow, but grow
they will.
