A Good Sign

I am sitting at a McDonalds in Southern IL with a great cup of coffee and a fruit and yogurt parfait.  Great breakfast for weight watchers! I was finishing some reading and a family started filing out of the play area. At least 10 family members and one two year old.  The two year old was screaming, "I don't want to leave!"  She was crying and throwing a fit like I haven't seen in a while.  I smiled as the mom and dad looked embarrassed.  I refused to give them the look, "my kids never did that".  Oh how I remember that look when our kids were throwing fits.  Not me,  I sympathetically smiled.

It made me think of a time several years ago on a Sunday Morning.  I was sitting in the lobby of the church while 30 or so folks were finishing visiting for the day.  I had already been at the church for six hours, two services, an impromptu meeting with the elders and I was tired.  I wanted to go home and head for my Sunday Sabbath Nap.

Gene sat down next to me and said, "Someone would have forced me into this place four years ago and now they have to force me out."  I have noticed that when the church is experiencing a healthy season, people aren't anxious to leave on Sundays.  They enjoy one another. I remember seeing people praying for one another, laughing together, and crying together.  I often talked about how to stand in the lobby of the church so that the circle remains open and inviting.

I know it's not the most vital sign of health in a church but it was an easy one to read.  Do people enjoy sticking around?  Are circles open to others?  I am reminded that 90% of the people who are not in a church on a Sunday Morning don't feel the message is relevant and don't think 'we' care!  So when people are sticking around 'caring' that's good, right?