Worth It

It was fun to have so many of our church community at our house this last Sunday. Afterwards, Nick and I pulled out the hidden laundry that needed folded and started up the washing machine.

 “I’m exhausted,” I said as a flopped down on the chair. “But, I think it was worth it.”

Nick answered, “It was definitely worth it.”

Now if you have hosted at your house you know that exhaustion. All the prep so that everything is just right, down to the towels in the bathroom. And you probably know that feeling of exhaustion afterwards. Sometimes, it seems a little more worth all the effort than others. We have hosted things on both sides of that line. But this was really worth it.

It was worth it for our church folks to get to see all the work put into the parsonage over the last year. From those who had seen it after the new floors, cabinets, and appliance, we heard it looked great with things in it. It is funny how that house they repaired now has become a home, with a personality all its own. Many people came through and said “thank you” to which we said, “actually, thank you” because it was these people who had done the initial work of preparation.

But, the real thing that made it worth it, more than anything else, were two guests. They were the first to come, and the last to leave. They were a k.i.C.k family, a father and his 2^nd grade daughter. His daughter scampered upstairs to play with Lydia, while the father found a spot in the living room. As church folk arrived, the room filled to capacity, and while other rooms would empty and fill and empty again as people chatted and moved through the house, the living room would always have people in it. The father would listen to conversations about the house. He would listen to light hearted jokes and the ensuing laughter, and he would discover church. Not the formal experience of Sunday morning, but the shared life that happens among us the rest of the week.

After everyone else had gone, he asked us some questions. He asked us if we had just remodeled the house. That was a fun one to explain. He asked about worship services too. Now I don’t know if he will make it to those services. Lots of people ask, but getting into the habit of Sunday morning is hard. But that asking…that experience of seeing him connect with the body of Christ for two hours and that experience provoking him to a deeper step…that made it worth it.

Jesus told a story that there once was a man who had 100 sheep. Only one of them wondered off. But he left the 99, to find that one.

So for us, that one (or two) was worth it.