The week before Easter brings a marathon of church-going for Christians. There’s church Maundy Thursday, with communion; church Good Friday; and a variety of Sunday-morning services to celebrate Easter.
Since I was a child, I’ve attended church Thursday, Friday, and gone to one service on Sunday morning – the Easter Sunrise Service. Yep, we got up, put on our Sunday finest, and drove (sometimes walked) off to a service that started at 6:00am. We’d sit in church, singing hymns, listening to the joyful Easter sermon, and catching whiffs of the delicious Easter Breakfast aromas floating up from the church kitchen.
There were five kids in my family. Five. And my mom successfully got us all to church. What’s even more amazing is the fact that we were always on time.
I have one kid, and she’s a baby, and I’m already wimping out. We’re going to church on Thursday and Friday, and we’re going to church on Sunday, but it’s not going to be the 6:00am service.
Church at 6:00am? Not this year. She sleeps until 9:00am every morning. When we wake her up early, it’s not pretty. If the sunrise service were the only option, we’d suck it up and go. Church is a priority to us. Thankfully, the before-the-sun-comes-up service is not the only option. There’s also an 8:00am and a 10:30am service. Can you guess which one is calling my name?
I have a feeling skipping the sunrise service might cause some disappointment in my husband’s family. Not only did they always attend the sunrise service, they also always chose a second service to go to on Easter.
Don’t get me wrong, I love going to church, especially during big church holidays. I also go along with what our families want as often as I can. I just don’t see the point in waking my daughter up, getting her ready, and then spending the entire church service in the cry room or church nursery, trying to pacify her in her overtired state of mind. I’d rather let her sleep in, take our time getting ready, and let her smile be the best accessory for her frilly, pink Easter dress.