this morning I woke up sick, and it's Sunday.
I had to make the decision of whether or not to attend church.
Besides the fact that you miss out on everything when you miss church, there is the bonus of everyone asking your wife why you're not there, and her having to explain you are sick. Suddenly everyone knows you are sick.
"Tell 'em I was captured by aliens honey, but I should be back by monday."
she wouldn't do it.
Anyway, my daughter made it clear that she'd rather stay home with me today. So I said, it's still the Lord's day, so we'll do church at home while mommy goes.
So when night church came around my wife went silently by herself while the kids and I enjoyed the weekly tradition of a movie and home-made pizza, family time.
I assumed they didn't want to go. Finally my daughter looks up "where's mommy?"
before I could complete the sentence "she went to church" my daughter was in hysterics.
Now dads, you can tell the difference between crocodile tears and a meaningful cry. THIS was a meaningful cry. Something was very important about church and I didn't know what it was. And I couldn't get her to calm down.
I frankly surprised me greatly, and I finally calmed her down and asked "what is wrong?"
She explained she wanted to hear the testimonies and now it was too late she'd miss the testimonies and why didn't I tell her mommy went to church?
The truth was she missed mommy saying "bye bye" because she was too wrapped up in the film.
I tried to explain how she shouldn't be angry at me but she was still rather upset, curled into a ball and was jsut crying...
Completely unlike her. It was so unlike her it disturbed me.
Anyway.. I said "well it's pouring rain!!!... but... I can take you there and you probably won't even miss any of the testimonies."
We have a tradition here of the new arrivals giving their ten minute testimony in evening church so we can get to know them.
It had never been an important thing to her before. But suddenly it was, and I think it was because she knew the people testifying.
So...
in pouring TROPICAL rain, across mud and potholes we went. I got soaked and covered in mud, but we got there and she was happy.
As I was going home I thought... "that was one of those things dads do for their kids to make things better."
The irony is, I didn't for one second mind the mud, the cold, the fact that I was not feeling well, be a thought in my head. I was jsut wanting my little girl to not miss those testimonies!!!
There is something deeply spiritual about our children that I can not finger yet.
This morning my daughter had a strong understanding of the verses she was reading. She was able to discern the truth through the words of the NIV. It wasn't a kids Bible, and she was able to make application from it.
Meanwhile my son is walking around going "dad, who was anointed Jesse, David or Samuel.... no wait, I know... Samuel was asked to do it.... to one of Jesse's sons.. so David was the only son on this list... it was David." Sure enough we looked it up in I Samuel and he was right.
I have no idea how he put that all together but he did.
Today was another day where I was convinced that maybe God simply called us to PNG not for what WE (my wife and I) might do here, but for something enormous he has planned for our kids.
