Attending Church as a Large Family

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Attending Church as a Large Family is part of the Write 31 Day 2017 Challenge.

Sunday.

The Lord’s Day.

A day to worship the Lord and be with God’s family.

And yet, with a large family, it can be often everything but that.

Back then…

It would start the night before.

Whether the day would go ok or not depended on how the baby slept. If he/she woke up multiple times then when morning came, there would be at least two cranky persons. Those days were hard and I do not wish to live through them again.

The circus show

Once in church, the circus would begin and my stress level would start escalating.

Because we chose to keep our children with us during service, I was constantly on high alert, wondering who’s going to cry next, go to the toilet, or drop the box of crayons, all the while juggling a baby who needs to nurse.

Even when we sent the older ones to Sunday School, I never know when I would be called upon because a child wasn’t happy. Basically, I missed out on a lot of messages in the early days.

It was hard!

By the way, if you are wondering where my husband is all this time, he was serving in the Church service. In the early days when we had 4 children, he was around to help me. But as our family expanded, he became a pastor. And so he was either serving in the worship team or preaching from the pulpit.

It was HARD!

I had to bring all the children to Church all by myself as he would have to leave earlier to prepare for the service. In time to come, he would even bring my best helpers – the older two – with him as they were roped in to help out in the worship team as well.

There were a few times I wanted to cry from the craziness of it all.

Why bother?

And many times I wondered why I even bothered.

Why bother attending church when I did not get to hear the message. I often felt flustered. And it was stressful getting 5 small children dressed, presentable and on time for Church every single Sunday, come rain or shine. And after service? I was totally  exhausted.

But you know what? Over time, we all got used to it. We developed a Sunday routine and I grew more confident. The children also grew up.

Being with God’s family is a blessing

There is always a blessing being with God’s family. The children also saw that going to Church was an important part of our faith. No, we are not holier if we have perfect attendance in Church but it shows our priorities in life.

Plus, they also get to hear the Word from other people instead of just from daddy and mummy, and of course, play with the other children. They too learn what being a part of God’s family is like.

They also learnt how to sit quietly (relatively) during service. And there was a hidden blessing in that. Unknown to us, the sight of them doing so blessed many. Or so I have been told.

So, yes, it IS tiring. Yes, it does seem pointless at times. But mom in the trenches, keep keeping on. Because soon you WILL get to sit and listen to the sermons. You WILL get to chat with other adults without being interrupted.

And today…

Things have changed much as the children have matured. Today, I occasionally even get to attend church all by myself! And I always get to listen to the full sermon and take notes.

Imagine that, huh? It is a far cry from those early years. And the children love to attend church and be a part of the activities. Well, for now at least! 🙂 The 19, 17 and 15 year-olds also serve regularly in the main services.

So, let us …

“not forsak(e) the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some,
but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Hebrews 10:25.

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