From the Back of the Church to the Front

Having two boys, less than two years apart, can be quite the adventure. There is truly never a dull moment. Brady and Eli are either pledging their undying devotion to each other as brothers or vowing to destroy each other in one of their countless arguments (and that’s putting it nicely). They can love each other, hate each other, love each other, hate each other. It’s a lovely cycle that never ends.  You would think my darlings would  know how to behave at church but as my Mother used to say “The Devil gets them as soon as they walk in the door.”

A few months ago, my husband and I were both over the countless threats, under pew leg pinching and walks to the bathroom for “a talk.” I had to take a drastic measure and relocate our family. While we were used to sitting in one of the last rows in the sanctuary-so we could make an easy escape with our angels-I decided to move us right up to one of the front row pews. I told my sons that they were going to sit up front and behave or our pastor was going to call them out over the microphone. I’m not sure this is entirely true but you never know. The pastor might decide to say something about an 8 and 10 year old rolling around on the floor or sword fighting with their rolled up Sunday School papers. This scared the devil out of them for sure.  Having a front row seat helped them to pay attention and (ahhhhh) behave. At least temporarily. We have had our prime real estate spot now for a few months and slowly,but surely, they have made themselves right at home. I really might need to have our Pastor make an example out of them.

Behavior aside, even better things ended up happening in our family when we moved locations. Landon and I are both a little (ok a lot) ADD. We can have a hard time focusing on a slow movie, a slow song, a slow anything. When my sweetie and I were both in college, we definitely did not sit at the back of the class to pay attention in our courses. So why did we think it was fine at church? Moving to the front of the church not only helped our children behave and listen, it helped Mom and Dad behave and listen too. The sermons and songs became much more meaningful to us when we could actually focus and just “be” in His House. The move also happened at a time in my life when I finally decided to truly let the Holy Spirit into my soul. The relocation from the back to front has helped me in my walk with Him more than I could ever describe.

Dear Paige, Don’t forget He always has a plan. You may have thought the relocation of church pews was your grand idea but,ultimately, just like everything else,  it was His. 

Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.