I spent this afternoon at my church helping other church members move furniture and shop vacuuming water out our flooded church.
Our area got hit really hard the past couple of days with rain. The rain came up over the berm behind the church and rushed throughout the building. All the children’s rooms on one side of the sanctuary flooded and two of our preschool rooms flooded on the other side of the building. The sanctuary has water that runs through it and out into the lobby.
One of the young men had mopped up dirty water and asked that I sweep it up. As I swept up the dirty muddy water, the floor underneath was left clean. As I was observed this I thought, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could just sweep up all the messiness of divorce and leave a clean environment for little kids.”
The reality is that we can’t wipe out memories and the messiness of divorce. But we can help these children by bringing them into the church. There are many reasons children of divorce don’t want to come to church. But what about the reasons many do want to come to church?
What little children have said about going to church
- I like going to church because I like how it makes me feel.
- It’s hard to only be able to attend church every other week but I still like to go because my friends are there.
- I like to sing the praise songs because they make my heart feel good.
- I love Jesus.
- There is this one guy who always welcomes me and shakes my hand. Since my dad isn’t at home, I like being around this man at church.
Sometimes it is as simple as just being there and being friendly with the children. Accept them for who they are – not for what is happening with their parents.
Even though our church is flooded, the love and companionship among the people working to get things cleaned up has not dimmed. As a matter of fact the camaraderie is very strong. People working together in the Lord’s house bring a sense of belonging and being family with one another. Working side by side with some of the younger people that I don’t know very well, brought a sense of togetherness.
Let me ask you, can we not do the same for the child of divorce? Can we not bring them into a sense of belonging and family with them?
Think about flooding your church not with water but with the love of Christ. Flood these children with love – Jesus love.
Great analogy. So true. Praying that we can learn to create an environment in our churches that encourages belonging and feeling loved as part of a family.
Thanks Joseph