Not the Answer I Expected

As I've shared on this blog, I began a part-time job doing warehouse work the middle of October. I was honest about how I struggled to know without a doubt that He either wanted me to begin this job or to continue to stay home and wait on His provision. (see "How Then Can Man Understand his Way?")

Once I began to settle into the weekend position, I also wrote about some of the Interesting Developments that were taking place. Overall, I've been content almost every Saturday and Sunday to go to work. (There have been a few groggy mornings!) I'm still not certain this was God's absolute perfect will for me, but there have been even more positives to the work than I thought there'd be. Honestly, it hasn't all been perfect...as I expected...there have been a few scares with some back pain and tendinitis but nothing that a visit to a chiropractor probably wouldn't help.

Where I was continuing to struggle though was this elusive idea of "balance". How do I home school our children five days a week, work on the weekends, maintain a household and all that phrase entails and still find time to serve the poor, the needy, the widow and the orphan? While I was by no means getting stressed about this, I don't want our family to become insulated and focused only on our needs and wants again. I feel like this was the life God called us out of and I have no desire to go back to being ego-centric.

While life was beginning to settle into a routine, I became aware of something interesting...I didn't miss going to church on Sunday mornings. There was absolutely nothing against our church home implied by this, I just realized that while the music is great and the preaching is pretty good too...attending Bible study and having regular time set aside with God didn't really leave me with much of a void for doing church.

I have to admit that at the same time I wasn't missing "church", I was missing community life...at least community life the way God's Word instructs us it should be lived out. I still don't feel like I have the answer here, but Dale pointed out that I do make an effort to meet with and see the sisters that matter to me outside of "church" and combined with our home school co-op family and women's Bible study, there's not a lot to miss in this area either. I'm still hoping and praying we can find community together as a couple and family though.

The reason for all of this background is so you can better understand what I was mulling over and my desire to still be serving God somewhere, somehow without feeling overwhelmed by adding one more thing to our days. While I do want to be open to the Holy Spirit's prompting about serving as a family and we live our lives without strict constraints on our time so we can be open to His movement...I believe this Sunday morning, I was blessed to receive the answer I'd been waiting to hear...even if it wasn't the answer I expected.

I've been reading Shane Claiborne's Irresistible Revolution and really believe that God is drawing me to live out this quote Shane shared from Tony Compolo: "Jesus never says to the poor, 'Come find the church,' but He says to those of us in the church. 'Go into the world and find the poor, hungry, homeless, imprisoned,' Jesus in his disguises."

So how do I work, teach our kids and live out God's call to love the poor, needy, downtrodden and forgotten? Sunday morning...He said, "Angela...you already are!"

Remember I said that I work Saturdays and Sundays? And while I had already realized that this job is full of lives that need to know God's Love for them, I guess I was a little daft at putting this all together. Funny thing is...I was at church when it happened.

It was a slow weekend at work...coming out of a busy buildup to the holiday shopping online...I was a little surprised to only be needed for two hours Sunday morning. Yet, I was happy to be able to call Dale, ask him to come get me and know that at least this Sunday...I'd get to "go to church".

But here's what happened...while I'm standing there worshiping and praising my Abba...I became aware that I wasn't supposed to be there. You see...if I'm in a church building surrounded by a couple hundred Christians and all across the country millions more are sequestered away in buildings of all shapes and sizes...exactly who is in the warehouse down the street serving my Jesus by living out His Love to my co-workers? I'm supposed to be there...that's who!

As tears streamed from my eyes, face after face flashed before me and God's Spirit asked me (in thought...not in an audible voice), "Who will be my Light to them, Angela? They are poor in spirit, needy, alone, imprisoned, downtrodden and forgotten. Who will live out My Love for them?" I knew in that moment that although I was thankful to have the opportunity to "go to church"...I was in the wrong place. As long as God allows, I won't be going to church on Sunday mornings...I want to be the Church on Sunday mornings.

I freely confess this is my conviction and mine alone! I am beyond thrilled that my husband and children can still attend a worship celebration where they are encouraged and challenged to grow and live out their faith. I am not advocating that churches shut their doors and stop meeting. But the thought did cross my mind while I stood there Sunday morning...'What if just 20 or even 50 people would be willing to go to work on Sunday in retail, waiting tables and the myriad of jobs in industry and instead of going to church to meet with Jesus...they took Jesus to the people?'

You know...I don't recall anywhere in the New Testament that Jesus or any disciples required believers to meet on Sunday. Actually, in the book of Acts, it says they "met daily". Does anyone really believe that God is going to somehow be disappointed or angry if we meet together for worship on Tuesday or Wednesday instead? Probably not.

I happen to believe He's a whole lot bigger than just one day in a week of my life. That's the God I want to introduce my co-workers to...the One that loves them no matter where they work, when they work or why they work. He loves them so much He's decided maybe it's time someone brought some Church to them!

Amen!