It was Saturday night and my family went to the elevator in turns as there was no way all of us would fit, considering all the extra load of “stuff” we take for our house church. The meeting would be at one of our regular’s home on the next door building.
We had some songs to sing, some food, the advent wreath, candles, the guitar, kid’s activities with supplies, our Bibles, etc
Getting there we had plans to spend time around the wreath, sing and read the Bible, have some thought provoking questions and nice answers that would make all of us feel warm inside. This time of the year is so special and that was our plan for the event.
We get there and people are going crazy with food preparation. They had so much! It was sweet of them, but it took the focus from our time. We then started singing some songs that they brought from their Catholic church. Nice songs and we even knew some. Nothing like it was planned …
My husband started talking about last week’s focus. As the topic starts to penetrate our minds and hearts the last visitor family arrives. They then started kissing everyone, and the food started being served. Nothing like it was planned …
Almost like an instinct I admire in him so much, my husband starts the conversation again. This time the kids are in the back doing their Christmas crafts and reading portions of the Bible with my daughters. He starts talking about faith on the promised of God through Jesus, topic of the second week of Advent. It only started there, questions such as “Is God real?”, “Why does God allow suffering in the world?”, and statement such as “I am happy as an Atheist” brought a different dynamic to our meeting. Nothing like it was planned …
We had dessert and the kids wanted to present us a performance they had prepared in the back. It was about forgiving our friends when they wrong us. It had a good message but at times it was hard to get it with all the noise, disturbance and discussion among actors! We sat there for a while until we demand a last act! Nothing like it was planned …
We finished the meeting with an open end. We did not answer all the questions and not all questions were mentioned. It was midnight and we were tired. Strangely we walked home with joy our hearts. It was crazy at times but all that happened had a purpose. We were growing in knowledge of each other, as a family. People felt free to express their view and opinions. Kids felt part of it. The Word was preached. God was glorified!
When we meet as a family, do we ever plan every step of the way? No, we visit family with open hearts wanting to spend time together and sharing life’s experiences with each other. That was what happened. Did we plan exactly that way? No, but that is OK. I am glad I am not in charge! Our Father is in control!
