One Word At A Time: Sacrifice
By Ginny (MAD21)
Something happened last week that made my heart ache. I was sitting in the waiting room while my girls were in gymnastics class. The room is usually pretty chaotic with kids running around and parents coming and going. I was concentrating on my book so I wasn't listening to any particular conversation going on around me. But suddenly I found myself tuning into a woman sitting near me. It was one of those moments when it seems that everything slows down and the room goes quiet except for the thing that got your attention.
I looked up to see who was talking. It was a mother I had seen there before. She is one of those ladies who once she starts talking to you, you are committed to listening to for the duration of your time together. Don't get me wrong, she's a nice lady, but she obviously loves to talk and will do so as long as she thinks she has someone's attention.
We had all been in the waiting room for some time, probably about half an hour. The woman had been talking to the lady sitting next to her and to anyone else within earshot. I vaguely remember hearing about car repairs and sick kids, but that isn't what really what made me take notice of their conversation. I'm not sure what they were talking about that led them to this particular topic, but she began to describe an experience she and her family had when visiting a church.
I didn't hear why they were at the church, but it seemed like a recent visit. She liked having her young children go to Sunday school to help teach them morals. I think this is what initially got my attention. As a person who has worked in Children's Ministry for years and is passionate about planting seeds of faith in their hearts, this really bothered me. I'm glad the mother likes to take her children to Sunday school, but there is more to God and faith than good morals. However, that wasn't what upset me.