Off Kilter

We decided to go to second service today. We almost never miss first service, but since our daughter didn't have youth group and our son had to be there for worship way before first service, we decided to sleep in a little, do our grocery shopping with hardly anyone in the store and while it was cool, and take our time this morning. I can see why many people prefer second service. But for me, I feel off kilter. Kind of like when you sit in a different seat in church. Your perspective changes and you feel like you're in a whole new room with new people.

Isn't it funny how we get ourselves so comfortable with the familiar, that we're uncomfortable with the new? Who knows how many new people we'll meet by going at a different time? How many people we'll get to talk to that we know, but don't get to chat with on the first service schedule.

As I continue reading Wide Awake by Erwin McManus, I hear how much he enjoys life. It's like his eyes and taste buds and hands are super sensitive to every stimulus that comes his way. He's been all over the world, speaking, visiting, enjoying life with his family. Everything is an adventure with him. He truly is living his life Wide Awake.

I know for me, I have to force myself into new situations most of the time. As a single mom for 13 years, I had to do what I had to do. Usually with a big gulp and a step forward I experienced many new things as a single parent. It seems so much easier to take those steps and experience new things with a spouse by my side. Someone to share those times with, someone to hold my hand and lead me on, someone to protect me and care for me if something goes wrong. I really appreciate the blessing God gave me in him. I wonder if it is the same for married women who have always been married? Are they more adventurous because they've always had a partner? Less adventurous? That would be an interesting study.

As I get ready to go to church, I wonder what new experiences and conversations I'll have today? With the sun directly overhead when I exit, instead of in the morning sky, I anticipate my morning adventure. Blessings on this beautiful Lord's day.