GATHER (FMF31 2019 Day 8)

I am participating in 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes 2019 (all of my submissions can be found here).

Today’s prompt is: GATHER

This word brings up memories of hymns from my childhood.

Shall we gather at the river?

We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing…

I have been particularly remiss in the “gathering” part of my faith walk lately.

While I do “get” the fact that it can be worshipful to be alone at a sunrise, communing with your higher power or on a mountaintop (OK, I don’t personally KNOW about the mountaintop part) reveling in the majesty of nature, I also believe it’s important to gather with others to worship.

I’ve always said worship is the one hour out of my week that I take to make myself sit down and think about others, while reflecting on how I am living out my faith as I see it.

I often hear people say (with good reason) “but organized religion has gotten so hypocritical.” And it’s true. No congregation I am going to walk into will be populated by people who demonstrate their beliefs flawlessly 100% of the time. Likewise, I present myself to them (and God) just as I am (I know — another hymn reference ha ha), willing to see how I could have behaved differently and learn how to be better to my fellow human beings in the week ahead.

I used to sit in the back of the church, there “just for the worship.” Once I had kids, by nature of children being more gregarious than I am, I had to mix with people when I gathered.

Turns out maybe God had something in mind when he gave me two outgoing children.