It was during Holy Week that I had a conversation with my four year old that I didn’t think I would need to have for a long time yet. As I was starting to brush her teeth for bedtime, she announced to me, “I already know about Jesus, so I don’t have to go to church.” I am not kidding you.
“Did you…hear that somewhere?” I asked, toothbrush in midair, caught totally off guard and thinking that she was repeating something she’d heard.
“No, I just made it up.”
“Well…there are always more things to learn about Jesus. Mom and Dad learn new things about Jesus all the time at church.” She looked surprised that Mom and Dad didn’t know everything. If she already did, certainly Mom and Dad would!
I racked my tired brain for “reasons to attend church regularly” from Catechism and Bible classes. “And also, we want to thank Jesus for everything he’s done for us,” I added, still in disbelief that I was having this conversation with my four year old. “Because what did Jesus do?” I asked. Never a bad time to repeat yet again the closing words of every children’s message at our church, so I started: “Jesus died on the…”
“Cross, to take away our sins,” she continued, “so we can go to Heaven!”
“See, you know that already, but we thank Jesus for it every Sunday.”
Mutual encouragement. There we go–my brain still worked! I said something about how it is good to get together with other Christians. I then mentioned the names of some of her friends at church. She seemed on board with the idea that church is a good time to get together with friends…but how to explain that being with Christian friends at church (whether you are 4 or 40) is much more than a play date?
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10: 23-25)
Going to church regularly is the avenue for encouraging each other in the faith. For spurring each other on. Cheering for each other. Helping each other stay strong.
It’s hard to stay strong just flying solo. Instinctively, we know this. We’ve built mutual encouragement into our lives as moms. We get together with other moms so we can support each other in the task of raising kids (and staying sane while raising kids). Whether it’s a phone call to a friend, a mom’s night out, a play group, or a meeting for nursing support or some other specific help, we know that we are stronger and better able to cope when we can spend some time with each other.
How much more so with our faith. Our faith becomes stronger and better able to withstand all the pressures of life in a mixed up world when we spend time with each other in worship. Meeting together enables us to hold on tight, hold “unswervingly” to our hope, our conviction, of new life in Jesus that will take us all the way to heaven.
And it isn’t easy to get together. Is that ever an understatement. But we do it with our mom friends. We carve out the time, we MAKE it happen because we NEED it. It’s the same with church. We make it happen because we need it. We need to be strong, and stay strong. For ourselves–our own souls. For our spouses. For our little ones.
Yes, those little ones. (Apparently, our four year old just didn’t want to have to wear her itchy tights again! Wow, I’ve got to hand it to her–she’s clever.) And when they grow up, they still need us to be strong. Worshipping together, encouraging each other in the faith, will keep us strong.
