The Church Habit

I almost didn’t go to church today. There was a family retreat happening this weekend, so pretty much my whole Sunday School class was gone. I’m having a colonoscopy tomorrow (the joys of growing old), so I have all that jolly fun prep stuff going on, plus some other medical issues I don’t need to go into now. I mean, I could come up with all sorts of reasons NOT to go to church this morning.

My guy told me recently that the typical regular church attender averages 2.5 Sundays per month these days. So, it’s really no big deal for me to miss once in a while, I suppose. I certainly do better than average.

I think. Well, I know I used to.

I grew up in one of THOSE Southern Baptist families, you know: if the church building was unlocked, we were in there. Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, special events . . . we even hunted down a Southern Baptist church to attend when we were on vacation. It simply wasn’t an option to just NOT go to church on a Sunday morning unless you were at death’s door (and even then, the Lord’s house seems like the place to be).

So, the conditioning is strong in me: Sunday morning = church. Period. My ex was the same way, so this is a habit 54 years in the making.

And . . . then . . . covid. Yeah, you all saw that coming.

Being the introvert that I am, online church was a lovely thing. Get all your worship on in the comfort of your own living room in your PJs with the dog in your lap and no hanging around for vapid small talk in the foyer. Now I’ll admit, after a year or so, it was great to go back in person – I actually teared up during my first service back in the sanctuary. But y’all, it is really nice having online services as an option when I need them. Like when I had covid this summer . . . and then when I hurt my foot . . . and later when I had that bad cold . . . and that one Sunday when I was just, like, really tired . . . and, um, yeah . . .

It is with shame I admit that with the daughters moved out and no other human being in the house to nudge me out the door or be accountable to, I find online church to be a screaming temptation from the hand of Satan. Not that it’s a sin to stay home and watch church on the TV. It’s not. Don’t think you’re hearing me say that.

But the Enemy knows even better than I do that I can’t do this Christianity thing alone. I need a tribe: brothers and sisters walking alongside, sharing the struggles, laughing at the screw-ups, picking me up and dusting me off, pushing, encouraging, admonishing, being there. And it’s much easier to be there when you’re literally there – in physical proximity to one another.

If there’s one truth my spiritual walk has taught me over the years, it’s that we are not meant to be lone ranger Christians. We are members of a body. We need each other. When I try to stand alone, I fall. Every time.

So, I pulled on a decent outfit and drove myself to church today. Some habits are worth keeping.