Church. It's a blessing that we get to be there, that it is so close, that the building is so beautiful. We know it's where we are to be on Sunday morning. We're committed.
"But still," as Xanthe would say. We don't bring snacks to church, just based on the firm conviction that our kids can last an hour without eating. And if they want to be entertained, they are responsible to pack their own crayons. So it's not necessarily an exciting, riveting hour for our kids. It's about discipline and learning and schooling your thoughts and behavior. This week, Xanthe forgot her bag of tricks. Fifteen minutes into the meeting, during the sacrament, Golda had to take her out because Xanthe had decided that her week-old blister was unbearably painful. Her whimpering was disrupting the meeting. A few minutes later, Ptolemy started whispering, "Knock, knock!" Nobody thought it would be appropriate to tell Knock Knock jokes during testimony meeting, so we were all shushing him, which made the "Knock, knocks" progressively louder. Soon, Ptolemy was fairly shrieking, "KNOCK, KNOCK, Ari!!" and sobbing. Ari took him out. Ruby leaned over to me and whispered, "And then there were five."
It's true, we usually end the meeting with significantly smaller numbers than we started with. This week, with Xanthe bereft of crayons and coloring books, it was especially brutal. She spent her time either holding her blistered hand in front of my face and whining, or petting Tizzy on the head, waking her up. I was saying a little prayer in my head that I would make it through the meeting without ripping one of Xanthe's arms off. My moment of respite was taking Tziporah to the car to change her diaper, after a trumpet-fanfare blowout. It was beautiful outside and I thought about not going back in. As soon as I did, however, Scott jumped up to bear his testimony.
He said he was thankful for me, his best friend, and thankful for each of our kids. He said he wanted them to know that he has a testimony of the gospel. He was funny, he was eloquent, and of course, he cried. After that, the wiggling and whimpering was fine. The Knock Knock jokes were fine. Xanthe's arms stayed intact and we all survived with smiles on our faces. It's funny, but my prayer for patience was answered by Scott's testimony, which completely changed my outlook on the meeting. Big prayers, little prayers...they're all heard and answered. That's MY testimony. Ask and ye shall receive. KNOCK KNOCK and it shall be opened unto you.
"But still," as Xanthe would say. We don't bring snacks to church, just based on the firm conviction that our kids can last an hour without eating. And if they want to be entertained, they are responsible to pack their own crayons. So it's not necessarily an exciting, riveting hour for our kids. It's about discipline and learning and schooling your thoughts and behavior. This week, Xanthe forgot her bag of tricks. Fifteen minutes into the meeting, during the sacrament, Golda had to take her out because Xanthe had decided that her week-old blister was unbearably painful. Her whimpering was disrupting the meeting. A few minutes later, Ptolemy started whispering, "Knock, knock!" Nobody thought it would be appropriate to tell Knock Knock jokes during testimony meeting, so we were all shushing him, which made the "Knock, knocks" progressively louder. Soon, Ptolemy was fairly shrieking, "KNOCK, KNOCK, Ari!!" and sobbing. Ari took him out. Ruby leaned over to me and whispered, "And then there were five."
It's true, we usually end the meeting with significantly smaller numbers than we started with. This week, with Xanthe bereft of crayons and coloring books, it was especially brutal. She spent her time either holding her blistered hand in front of my face and whining, or petting Tizzy on the head, waking her up. I was saying a little prayer in my head that I would make it through the meeting without ripping one of Xanthe's arms off. My moment of respite was taking Tziporah to the car to change her diaper, after a trumpet-fanfare blowout. It was beautiful outside and I thought about not going back in. As soon as I did, however, Scott jumped up to bear his testimony.
He said he was thankful for me, his best friend, and thankful for each of our kids. He said he wanted them to know that he has a testimony of the gospel. He was funny, he was eloquent, and of course, he cried. After that, the wiggling and whimpering was fine. The Knock Knock jokes were fine. Xanthe's arms stayed intact and we all survived with smiles on our faces. It's funny, but my prayer for patience was answered by Scott's testimony, which completely changed my outlook on the meeting. Big prayers, little prayers...they're all heard and answered. That's MY testimony. Ask and ye shall receive. KNOCK KNOCK and it shall be opened unto you.
7 comments:
Oh this is good. What a great way to bring a postive spirit to the meeting with Scott's testimony. Maybe we should compare notes some day. Our Sacrament Meetings are a combo of a wrestling match and a football game. Some days I hate trying to keep the bench under control but it's important that we are there and the kids know it is important to us to be there. Good blog post!
Touching, beautiful and funny. One of my favorite combinations you are so good at expressing. I often consider church a test of obedience. I am blessed because I am there right? No matter the chaos my tribe may contribute.
PS I would have snort laughed at Ruby's comment!
Knock knock... so funny. I love the ending of this post and I can just picture Tolly with a teary "knock, knock - Ari!" So sad / funny / cute all at the same time.
Ah, Ruby! You and Scott are lucky to have such great best friends. :)
very sweet ... and true :) thanks for sharing!
What a Sunday! One reason that I love your posts is that I can relate to so many of them. Just change the names and this could be our family! Hope that you all have a great week.
LOL! What a fun post to read...and picture in my head. Hannah attended church with me for the first 10 months and then we began the transition to Sunday School. I'm thankful we have that available or else I'm pretty sure Ptolmey would have a friend who would be only too happy to tell jokes with.....if only we lived closer and attended the same church! LOL!!
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