Scandalous Love

Happy Sunday!

I had a morning at church today. This past year has been an unsettled year for us as far as church attendance at our regular church, North Heights. Jonathan was sick, and or medically fragile, for most of the last year and we tried to avoid the particularly germy places, i.e. Chuck-e-Cheese and the church nursery. For the last few months, we have gone back to the church we went to for many years - Woodland Hills Church in Maplewood, MN.

Today, we all piled into one of the back rows in the sanctuary. After a while, Jonathan got a tiny bit wiggly and Craig took him out - with Abigail and Luke hot on his trail. Marie and I stayed and listened to Greg Boyd deliver a sermon in his Scandalous Love series. About 10 minutes into his sermon I heard some noise in the back and noticed a mother with two older girls and a baby Jonathan's age. One of the daughters was struggling and making some noise - the next thing I knew she was coming right toward me. She sat down next to and held my hand and tried to talk...but her words were garbled and hard to understand. I rubbed her back and looked into her eyes and she seemed to calm down. Soon her mom and two sisters came over and sat down by us. Her mom apologized and I told her it was okay...and I meant it with all my heart. Her daughter was still squeezing my hand and was now going through her alphabet flash cards with me. Her mom told me her daughter was nine years old and had some developmental delays.

The service went on and this young woman continued to not-so-quietly practice her letter sounds with Marie and I. Just a note: one of the many beautiful things about Woodland Hills is that at no point did anyone turn and scowl at us - in fact, the opposite happened, the young man in front of us turned and smiled and so did the elderly ladies next to us. I was so thankful because this woman clearly had a hard time getting her girls to church - and keeping them there.

As time passed, she commented on how I was missing the whole sermon. I said it was okay. I was thinking to myself that the whole sermon was about God's scandalous love for us - and something about us being a black hole - whatever it was about, this young girl needed my love. As she struggled to talk and think of the letter sound for "B" I could barely hold it together. I kept thinking of Jonathan and his present struggle to talk and wondering if he would have letter cards in church when he was nine. After her mom apologized again, I held back a few tears and told her that my little Jonathan had Down Syndrome and that he was out in the lobby with my husband. She smiled and said she was sorry. (FYI - I'm okay when people say they are sorry - it is a very common response - just KNOW that I am not sorry).

Well, the service went on and the whole time I was thinking about how helpful I was being to this young girl and her mom. Good grief. After the service ended her mother grabbed my hands and asked if we could pray together. I said yes, of course. (As Marie tugged my arm and her daughter wrestled for freedom). This beautiful woman didn't pray for her daughter, or thank God for putting her next to someone who would be okay with a distraction this Sunday. She prayed for Jonathan. She prayed that he would be blessed, be healthy, be free of developmental delays, etc., etc, etc. I was crying and soon my whole family was standing there wondering what one earth was going on. I couldn't understand all she prayed for today - her accent was thick and between her daughter and my lovelies I had a hard time concentrating. Praise God - she didn't. She prayed loudly and boldly through it all. After she finished - I never said a word - she left me speechless - we introduced eachother and agreed that we would sit together in that back pew next week.

I can still smell her perfume on my hands as I type these words. I don't want to wash my hands because I don't want the memory of this encounter to fade away. I am so thankful this young woman came and sat by ME. Woodland Hills is a very big church and while it is unlikely she would have ambled to the front of the auditorium, she could have chosen one of the other hundred or so seats in the back. (It wasn't so crowded today). I would like to think that God directed her to me - and my family. Marie was very patient with her and Luke was - I'm honestly not sure - he was preoccupied with getting to the candy machine by the exit door. Abigail had a harder time. The young girl grabbed her wrist and took her water bottle away. Abigail was very startled and started to cry. We talked about it after church, and I think she understands now - but it is hard. She understands many things she didn't even know existed at this time last year. I'm just praying that she always goes to God with her fears and concerns.

Anyway, that was my morning. Maybe I will listen to the sermon on the internet, but even if I don't it was the best church service I have been to in years. Thank-you God.

Love,
Jill