We were talking at dinner tonight about church when Darren and I were growing up. At CHBC, as soon as you were old enough to be trusted away from your parents in a service, you made a beeline for one of the back rows in the far right section of the sanctuary. This was the Youth Section. Here we sat, Sunday after Sunday, and I'm sure on the face of it, things looked pretty good most of the time. However, those weren't sermon notes we were taking. Generally, polls were taken about where we should go for lunch, at least in the pew where I sat. Someone would write "Lunch?" on a welcome card, and it would pass up and down the pew so that everyone could make a suggestion. "Pappy's?...St. Hubert's?...Swiss?"
Sometimes the welcome card would have something not very nice written on it about someone in the vicinity. It was always unfortunate if the something written was funny (and it usually was), because then there would be a tremendous struggle to not laugh. I can remember crying in church, just trying to keep from laughing out loud. Once we were sitting behind a little old lady who had some kind of tremor or something, and her head shook ever so slightly continuously. Darren cupped his hands together and quickly slid them back and forth along the back of her pew, making like he would catch her head when it wobbled off. I can still remember the strangled snorts and coughs as the 5 of us sitting there struggled to keep it together for the rest of the service. And all of this went on under the watchful eye of Darren's dad, who led the worship and sat on the platform throughout the whole service.
We were bad. And we did a lot of laughing. I remember being kicked out of a Quiz Team practice with Janice and Lynda because we were laughing too much. Mrs. Hunt told us that if we couldn't control ourselves, we would have to leave. So we left, and fell on the floor laughing in the hall outside.
I suppose at some point we grew up a little and started to actually listen, and even participate in the services, rather than carry out hangman tournaments and make lunch plans. But I don't think Darren and I really grew up spiritually until we left CHBC and started going to First Alliance two months after were were married. We loved that church, and I think we really got to know God there (not to mention some fantastic people).
Darren and I still struggle to keep it together in church at times (I still laugh over the "notes" taken during a recent missions conference), and generally it's not a good idea for us to sit together in choir. I'm just glad my father-in-law isn't on the platform, giving us the eye.
Sometimes the welcome card would have something not very nice written on it about someone in the vicinity. It was always unfortunate if the something written was funny (and it usually was), because then there would be a tremendous struggle to not laugh. I can remember crying in church, just trying to keep from laughing out loud. Once we were sitting behind a little old lady who had some kind of tremor or something, and her head shook ever so slightly continuously. Darren cupped his hands together and quickly slid them back and forth along the back of her pew, making like he would catch her head when it wobbled off. I can still remember the strangled snorts and coughs as the 5 of us sitting there struggled to keep it together for the rest of the service. And all of this went on under the watchful eye of Darren's dad, who led the worship and sat on the platform throughout the whole service.
We were bad. And we did a lot of laughing. I remember being kicked out of a Quiz Team practice with Janice and Lynda because we were laughing too much. Mrs. Hunt told us that if we couldn't control ourselves, we would have to leave. So we left, and fell on the floor laughing in the hall outside.
I suppose at some point we grew up a little and started to actually listen, and even participate in the services, rather than carry out hangman tournaments and make lunch plans. But I don't think Darren and I really grew up spiritually until we left CHBC and started going to First Alliance two months after were were married. We loved that church, and I think we really got to know God there (not to mention some fantastic people).
Darren and I still struggle to keep it together in church at times (I still laugh over the "notes" taken during a recent missions conference), and generally it's not a good idea for us to sit together in choir. I'm just glad my father-in-law isn't on the platform, giving us the eye.
2 comments:
Omigosh! I remember the whole quiz team thing with you guys! What a riot! I think the worst thing we ever did, though, were the nicknames we thought up for people... especially when GB found out the nickname for his brother (YIKES). Thankfully, though everyone says/does stupid things when we're young, we do (hopefully) change, eh?
very funny post and i'm glad you both still laugh in church!!:) i want to sit beside you two in choir as i like to be where the action is:) ps you are welcome for the blog roll!!
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