There is something I've been trying to avoid completely that keeps creeping back up. Church. I feel like it's such a taboo subject because people are so strong willed in whatever they believe that it's so easy to offend someone. I'm a cradle catholic (grew up catholic), and never really questioned anything. Catholic school ... Church twice a week ... My dad even has more pictures of Jesus in the family room than his kids. I never really questioned it until I went on a trip to El Salvador last year. After my ex and I broke up, I spent quite a bit of time moping around living off Ben & Jerrys and Jacks frozen pizza. A friend invited me out to an art show at her church. As I was looking through the artwork I saw some photos of small children in those black and white pictures. Sort of like the kind you see on TV when that song is playing in the background (
I believe there are angels among us ... ). I asked her who took those photos, and she said they were from a service trip to El Salvador. I signed up a week later.
I spent a week working side by side the people who lived in the small town of El Progresso. The twenty something of us from the U.S. geared up rode a pick up truck through the streets (dirt paths) of El Progresso (El Salvador) to our work site where we made a road. I joined the trip to try to think about anything other than my recent break up, and while I was there I found myself thinking about religion again for the first time in years. I went on the trip to get myself out of the break up rut that I was in, I found myself leaving feeling refreshed and ready to get out of my pajamas and pizza black hole.
I'm not sure when I stopped, but I stopped going to church. Life got in the way somehow with my traveling job, and hectic schedule. I've spent the past year trying to slowly get back into church and figuring out how I really feel about this whole religion thing.
84 Miles Down 196 Miles To Go
I recently had the same sort of realization. I always valued going to church. My family is Christian, but they were never really church-going other than Easter, Christmas, and Baptisms. I went to youth group and church by myself from the time I was 13 until I was 18. Then I went to college, ended up dropping out after a semester and getting pregnant (my dark period) and somehow my faith ended up at the bottom of my priority list. I never felt like God had given up on me, I just had "more important things to do". Yesterday was the first time I had been to church in about a year and a half...if not more, and I'm very glad I went because it felt SO good to be there.
ReplyDeleteWow AJB, sounds like you are one strong girl! It's funny how God uses timing to show us things in life. I'm happy you enjoyed being back as much as I have. I'm glad you shared your experience!
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