Week One of Advent

I decided to go to church today. I don't make it as often as I would like but today marks the first week of Advent. Growing up, Advent always signaled a time to think about your actions leading up to Christmas. It was a time of self-reflection. I will try to go every week. I can always use a kick in the butt. Advent is like a spiritual kick in the soul. I like to think it keeps the focus of Christmas on the reason we celebrate. I loaded the boys and Jesse (the dog) into the car and in the middle of a rainstorm, we ventured out. Once I got to church, I was able to park right in front. The boys refused to get out of the car. Instead of trying to force the issue I said a quick prayer requesting God send an angel to watch over them. I left them to their books and portable DVD player and made it inside in time for the opening music. Even though the sermons are meaningful, I love the singing. I love to sing. The music director decided that one Christmas hymn was appropriate along with the other songs planned. I loved it. I closed my eyes and sang along. It felt very festive. It was also fun to see a lot of people I hadn't seen in sometime. As people I knew came by, the stopped or waved. One elderly woman came over with a hug for me. Each time I had been at church, she was there. She was a fixture of the church. She asked about the boys. I turned around to glance at the car. The car wasn't shaking or moving. No yelling could be heard. Jesse has his head hanging from the window smiling his fabled golden retriever grin. So far, so good. I asked her to also pray the kids would be fine, not fight, not choke each other, not start yelling while I tried to spend some time in church. She laughed and said she would. After the music portion ended I decided it was time to go check on the boys. They were remarkably fine. I said a quick prayer of thanks while I made my way back into church. I decided to go in the front door instead of the side door so I could just slip in without interrupting anyone. The side doors led right into the room where the service was held. The main doors opened into the foyer and from there, into the main room. I could slip back in unnoticed. That was the plan at least. When I got to the foyer the woman who runs the daycare was standing there. She was surprised to see me, it had been so long. She gave me a hug and also asked about the boys. Then she told me her son who was three and half, had been diagnosed with the same disorder that my boys have, Fragile X Syndrome. My heart immediately went out to her. She had a long road ahead of her. So much to learn and to overcome. I had lived it all. I encouraged her when I heard what she had been doing and what was happening with her son. Then she told me she would love to talk more with me. She just happened to have her address book with her so I wrote down my phone number and email address. We are supposed to get together soon. Maybe on this first week of Advent I was exactly where I was supposed to be. Not in the service, but connecting with the one person I needed to connect with. Amen.