On Sunday, something happened to me that has never happened in any church I have ever attended. During the greeting, the woman next to me refused to shake my hand. She shook her head and waved me off.
Let’s just say it’s a good thing she wasn’t sitting next to me when I first visited this church six months ago. I was in a spiritual mid-life crisis. Nothing made sense anymore, especially not church. Then on December 5, 2010, I snuck out of the house at 7 a.m., so no one in my family would know I was gone, to go to our town’s Catholic church, St. Mary’s.
What can I say? How do you describe falling in love?
I know there’s more to it. After all, I have been married for 19 years.
I can’t tell you how strange a turn this is in my life. It’s as strange as sitting for a few minutes each day, watching and listening. And God somehow meeting me in that stillness when I really thought He had better things to do.
I want to thank everyone who left a comment during my 32 days of sitting. When I started this project, I was pretty sure I’d lost my faith. How did all of you know that I had roots when I thought I’d just dried up and died?
That woman who wouldn’t shake my hand really missed out on that thing we call the Church. Because when God wasn’t real to me anymore, all of you were.
