For those who saw me as I came in hot and late to Children's Choir yesterday with my kids (and their promised Starbucks drinks in tow to assuage my guilt), you may have been keenly aware enough to discern that my plastered on smile was a defense mechanism. Like all parents/guardians who have had the outrageous idea to take their (sometimes) delightful children entrusted to their care to church -- since the first stones were piled together and the building was called a sanctuary to worship God -- yesterday I was once again victim to what was perhaps the original pandemic: Children complaining and then parents arguing about the clothes to wear to church. I wonder if ancient children stomped their feet into the dirt and screamed about wearing sandals or bellowed with anger that they wanted to wear a crop top sheep's wool tunic?! I imagine I joined with a longline of parents losing their patience (and no, it wasn't my first time!) and screaming in our native tongue words we wish we could take back. All because we just want to take our kids to $%&#! church - ha! I half-joke our children can/should talk this all out in therapy one day and then I wonder about what I could do differently. Thankfully, the reality is that Glenn UMC is a welcoming place for children and adults alike whether you are wearing sweatpants or a suit. But as I slipped into the safe haven of our #ParentingIsHard Sunday School class yesterday and vented my mixed emotions of the morning, the wise and wonderful parents there surrounded me with solidarity and also gentle reminders that while I know intellectually that my children can wear any clothes to church, it's also okay that I set my own boundaries as a parent (and the preacher, for crying out loud!) of what I deem as church appropriate. In the words of one of the amazing mamas in our group text late last night (as we undoubtedly each faced the other time honored tradition of bedtime battles): "Thanks for the model of wise parenting. It's tough! And thank you for a safe place to bring my mistakes and messiness to learn, ask for forgiveness, and fill my cup up."
Hope to see you and your children (no matter what y'all are wearing!) at church soon... plastered on smile not required.
"He has told you, human one, what is good and what the Lord requires from you: to do justice, embrace faithful love, and walk humbly with your God." - Micah 6:8, Common English Bible
Grace and Peace,
Rev. Susan
#ParentingIsHard Meetups
Parents of all ages/stages meet to share the joys and challenges of parenting & share in our faith journeys. We will be using Bunmi Laditan’s Help Me God, I’m a Parent book of ‘honest prayers for hectic days and endless nights.’
Two options – join us for one or both:
Wednesdays, 11am – Meet in amphitheater for a walk & talk around the Emory quad. Contact Alison LaGree for more info & be added to the list for rain plans, etc.
Sundays, 9:45am – While children attend Sunday School or nursery care, bring a cup of coffee and join us in Room 401. Contact Joanna Boyles for more info & to be added to list for updates.