Twirling as Worship

Following the children's singing of "Zacchaeus Was A Wee Little Man" with the children's choir, our youngest took off to find my husband in the back of the church.  Not finding him she began to make her way to where I was sitting at the front of the church awaiting the second child's singing.  She had taken only two steps when the organ began to play "For the Beauty of the Earth" and the congregation began to sing.  That's when the twirling began.  She twirled and waltzed all the way from the last pew to the front pew.  She grinned and glowed.  Upon arriving where I was standing she grabbed my hand and I became her dance partner.

As a parent, pastor and front sitter realized we were on display.  How much twirling could and should be allowed?  What was the right avenue to not squish, but guide a child in full body dancing mode?

Then she looked at me as we sang the refrain, "Lord of all, to Thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise." 

So, she twirled and twirled and twirled.

My regret is that I didn't let go of my own inner need to dance and join her in the aisle.  I remained her dance partner, but didn't leave the comfort of my pew corner.  I lament my choice.

During this season of Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for my little twirler and the way she embodies praising God with all of her heart.  For her innocence and inability to worry over what others will think about her expressions of thanksgiving.

With Thanks,
Rev. Lissa Long

The Wiggler

This is our youngest on her first day of sitting in "Big Church".  No judgment on the picture...I took it before worship began.  Why?  Not because it was her first something, but because this is what she just knew worship preparation meant.  You sit down, open a book and put on your reading glasses.  She'd never been in "Big Church" before.  This little nugget of God's wonderfulness had been dropped off at the nursery the minute the doors opened for years, so how did she just know?

I remember in learning systems and behavioral classes the ongoing debate between NATURE vs. NURTURE.  Was it NATURE that directed our behaviors or was it NURTURE?  Which came first?  Depending on your answers, that is what would direct you behaviors in your community.  Around and around we would go!  What about our little ones in worship?  What part is NATURE and what part is NURTURE?

With our youngest, I'm going to go with the theory it was a whole bunch of both.  She had seen her father (I don't wear reading glasses) sit down many a time at home, restaurants and the like, immediately putting on his glasses so he could read the paper or menu.  She found the hymnal in the pew and used it as her reading material.  I can only imagine her little mind thinking, "I sit down and begin to read, but will need some glasses."  The funny part is she didn't know how to read and doesn't wear reading glasses, so these pieces were her fulfilling her image of what she imagined as worship.  More so, is her face of wonderment and preparation.  I was able to capture her looking around the sanctuary.  Imagine all you could see the first time you sat in a sanctuary.  Imagine all that you would hear.  Maybe even smell.  Oh the exploration of the newness!

This would be when the bells chimed and the wiggles began.  Her nose, eyes and ears had taken in all that could be consumed.  Now she wanted to touch everything.  The pew cushions.  The paraments covering the Lord's Table. The Bibles in every pew rack.  Every hymnal.  Think about all the things there are to touch just in a pew alone.  Who needs Disney really? 

Friends, this is when we as parents and fellow worshippers need to take a time out and remember our baptismal vows.  We promised as her parents to raise her in the faith.  To engage her in the life of the church of Jesus Christ.  More so, all those wonderful people around us had made the same vows to child after child after child.  If only the Bible said something about wigglers in church...

                     Oh wait...

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
-Mathew 19:14

So, the next time you have a wiggler or are worshipping near a wiggler, remember those incredibly awesome vows you have taken during baptisms.  Remember the words of Jesus Christ.  And smile.  Just smile and giggle and engage in their wonderment.  They are trying to figure out what this wonderfully new part of their life is all about.  They are cataloguing everything they see, smell, hear, touch and sometimes taste (pew pencils and pens usually) into the WORSHIP part of their growing heart.  As the grown-ups, we can help direct them and lovingly share our worship with them.  Hear are some of our favorites...

-Arrive to worship a little early for the chance to walk around the sanctuary together, allowing for questions and some exploration (baptismal font, Lord's Table, parament colors, stained glass, etc.).
-Get seated with a little time to "wiggle in" to their pew spot.  This will feel like a puppy circling before taking a nap.
-Have a scrap piece of paper, pencil, crayons handy for coloring on during worship.
-Put away your phone and other distractions.
-Lend your ear at their level when they have questions, "What is that person doing?", "Why do they use a cane?", "It smells funny in here", "Can I have a parakeet?" and my favorite from our oldest when she was 5, "I think my tooth is falling out."

Also, don't be afraid to see worship as a child.  Something you finally get to do that you've been waiting FOREVER (maybe it has been days or weeks or months).  Something filled with music and words and sights for your eyes to capture.  You have a WORSHIP file in your heart as well that may need a little tending.

With Joy,
Rev. Lissa

*By the grace of God, the tooth fell out 10 minutes after worship.  Glory to God!

New to THIS Child

Friends, it has been a long time.  I began this blog while my kiddos were little bitty and moved into an annual blog there after.  This is a topic I still have lots to explore, learn and share!  The children are now 9 and 5 and asking more difficult questions than ever.  Our youngest just sat through her first worship service!  Not our choice, but how do we tell a child "no" to sitting in worship?  Thus the importance for an outlet and a renewal of Worshipping Parent.  We now have "new to this child" situations and our eldest is giving us new turns along the way as well.

I am reminded how Jesus led the disciples.  Gently and sometimes with one-on-one discussion.  Why?  They needed it to fully grasp what was before them as they followed Jesus.  Expectations are often miscommunicated or not communicated at all within our workplaces, marriages and children.  It isn't that we want to not communicate, okay, sometimes I just want silence, but that's something else.  We just forget.  A typical Sunday morning at our home includes the cat waking me up, although the rest of the family is sleeping, and then a slow movement of the house.  Coffee on, one child and then the next.  Then my husband.  We have breakfast, read the paper and depending on whose day it is will watch yet another Sofia the First episode or the latest movie on a loop. That's when the tower of bliss begins to crumble.  It will be time to get dressed. There are tears over dresses and hairstyles, little sisters bugging big sisters, big sisters snapping at little sisters, and questions that everyone asks and are answered.  Sometimes we forget to say, "This is a joyful day of the Lord!  We are going to church this morning which is extra special because it is communion Sunday. Would you like to talk about what worship will be like before you go?"  Right.  Instead it is a litany of "no you can't wear your Mardi Gras mask for church even though it is fancy" and "did you feed the fish?"

Example...Last week our youngest asked to sit in worship.  I didn't want to say no.  I wanted to joyfully say yes. But, she had already been especially wiggly and we had already burned through our worship bag AND it was the point where Time With Children kids were leaving for children's church.  In front of 200+ people.  At the front of the church.  I said in a whisper with a kiss, "I love you.  Next week.  We need time to prepare for worship okay?"  She smiled and skipped off.  Truth?  When I said "we" in that moment, it wasn't her, it was her dad and myself who needed to mentally prepare for this season of her life and ours.  We (the hubby and I) and we (the hubby, the kid and I) talk during the week, on the way to church and a lot of whispers during church. She was ready and so were we.  We were exhausted, but it was time.

I'm holding on to the title this week of "New to THIS Child" because I don't want to assume Sumner will need the same things her sister did as she worships.  They are different kids with different ways of processing and experiencing life. 

There are so many ways we try to provide for our children's successes in life...education, friendships, extra curricular activities, etc.  Sunday may not be the easiest day, but it is a consistent day of the week we can purposely prepare our children.  We send them to school and have them do their homework so they will be successful adults in the professional world.  We shouldn't neglect the faith foundation building before us either.

Have a blessed week and know you are not alone as a Worshipping Parent.
Rev. Lissa Long