10 Minutes Late, but a Life Lesson Learned

This last Sunday was busy for us. We completed a Gospel Meeting with the Blackwater-Macedonia church of Christ near Jasper, Alabama with a 2PM service. I had preached at the 9:30 Bible class hour, the 10:30 worship hour, and then there was a fellowship meal. I preached at the 2PM service, and we were ready to leave for home. About 3:10, we pulled away, after saying “goodbye” to some special folks.

We thought about just driving home, but we did a little “mental math” a figured out that we might make it back to Lebanon Road, but might be late for the 6PM service. We had to stop once on the trip home, but traffic was fairly light for a Sunday afternoon, so we made decent time. At 6:00, we were in Nashville, but still a few minutes from the building at Lebanon Road.

We arrived about 6:10 and walked into service. Yes, we were late, but we felt it was still the best thing we could do. Why? Here are 4 things we thought of.

1. Worship. Here was another opportunity to worship our God. Why would we pass that up for a few minutes of rest that we could get later in the week?

2. Church family. We love Lebanon Road! Worshiping and visiting with the folks is a treat, and we didn’t want to pass that up.

3. A life lesson for the kids. We doubt they ever remember this past Sunday night, but we also know that we were building into their lives a respect for worship.

4. No Regrets. If our kids ever ask us, “Did we ever ‘skip’ worship?” we don’t have to recall this night as a time when we did. We might have been a little late, but we went.

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This post is not meant to “pat ourselves on the back.” It is meant to encourage you who are parents. Sometimes you are tired and it might be easier to make excuses to not attend worship. Make the effort! You’ll never regret it, and your kids will never forget it!