To all the mommas who went to church today…thank you!

It is certainly not hard to find people who are serious, if not passionate about the lack of necessity in going to church.
I, on the other hand, am not one of those people.

I wanted to take a minute to thank all of the mommas all over the world who took their kids to church on this day.

It’s Mothers Day.
The day that is supposed to be for us and all about us.
It’s the day we hope to get a little peace and quiet, a little bit of thanks for what we do and maybe a little recognition.
And on a day like this, that you could have made all about you, you decided to take your children to church with you.
And what you actually did by doing this is showed your kids more than you could ever tell them with your words.
You showed them that surrounding yourself with godly people, and putting Jesus first, has to start with you. The mom.

I can not even begin to tell you the amount of respect I have for you.
You. I am talking to you.
The one who got an interrupted 4 hours of sleep last night…at best.
You. The one who had to get 3 girls dressed and out the door.
You. The one who had to prepare your lesson for Sunday School and also get your kids and yourself looking presentable.
You. The one who was tired, emotional, worn out and maybe a little grouchy…
but you still made it to church.

See, the truth is. Going to church is a choice.
And it’s not always the easy choice but it is always the best choice.

Do you want to know some of the results of going to church week after week with those kids of yours who are soaking in everything you do?
Not just the things that you say?
It results in your 4-year-old belting out Bless the Lord O my Soul while standing in the sound room with her daddy.
It results in your kids learning that obedience brings blessing from a godly leader in junior church.
It results in your 14-year-old son taking notes during the sermon.
It results in your teenager telling you that he was convicted about how much time he spends reading his Bible and he wants to get up a half an hour earlier tomorrow.
It results in faithfulness in every area of life.
It results in accountability from adults they look up to and trust.
It results in committed people who pray for you during your hardest days.

So. Do not. For one second think that people don’t see you.
I see you.
I saw you today.
I saw you barely making it in the door, but you were there.
I saw the kids of the mommas who were away whose daddies brought them out to church.
I saw your tired face, oh yes I saw it and I feel you.
I understand the struggle every single Sunday morning.
And I need to tell you to keep going.
To not quit.
To not give up.
I need to tell you that showing your kids that church comes before pleasure teaches them way more than you can ever dream it will.
I need to tell you that when you live out your faith when it’s hard, it goes a lot farther than telling your kids to love God and hoping that they won’t ever turn away.
I need to tell you that it’s worth it.
I need to tell you that I am a direct result of parents who were faithful no matter the ages or stages of their kids or their lives.
I need to tell you to keep right on doing what you are doing and don’t even consider skipping church for one week.
Because believe me.
One week skipped leads to 2 weeks skipped. And 2 weeks skipped leads to a year of showing your kids that church is nice.
But it’s not really essential.
No. It is essential.
We need each other.
That is how God created us.
Don’t be deceived into thinking any other way.

I am so proud of you for making the choice that was hard.
I am so proud of you for smiling when it was not natural.
I am so proud of you for singing when you had tears streaming down your face.
Because not only did I see you, but your kids saw you.
And when your kids see you making hard choices to please Jesus, and you aren’t even complaining about doing it?
That’s when kids grow up to be adults who are sold out for Jesus.

It’s worth it, mommas. It’s worth it.
Every single game we skipped, and beach day we missed, it was worth it.

So, to all the mommas who went to church today – thank you.
It encouraged me and I know it encouraged other moms who were watching you come through those doors today.
It’s a reminder that us moms have to stick together.
So, thank you for bringing your kids to church.
For showing them Jesus.
HE is going to bless you for it…just you wait and see.