Agape

I’m a little nervous…

I went to a church school, my Granny and Great Aunt Eleanor played violin every Sunday in their log cabin church, a lot of my children’s books were stories from the bible, but it’s safe to say our family is non-religious. We still have a lot of the stereotypical Christian morals, but I’ve never read the bible and take issue with rich preachers.

However, after a friend’s wedding in June I really started to question my resistance to organized religion. During the ceremony I felt such peace with the rituals and it seems so reassuring to be in a partnership where your romantic partner (and maybe one day parent of your children) has the same grounding beliefs. I started asking friends about their experiences and suggesting religious or soul searching books for our book club, and then two Sundays ago one of my closest friends called to see if I wanted to go listen to gospel music at a church she’d seen an add for on tv.

First red flag-they have enough money to put adds on tv
Second red flag-I accidentally pulled into the designated bishop’s parking area and they like nice cars…lexus, bmw…

We went in anyway, but with our typical guard up and on high alert. The preacher seemed like he was talking directly to us and our private issues. I’ve never had someone cut right to the heart of my experience before, but somehow he did and managed to unite everyone in the shared experience. The music was so uplifting and joyful that we found ourselves singing and dancing along with the rest of the congregation, but my guard was still insurmountable…or so I thought. All of a sudden it was time to introduce yourself to your neighbors. I’ve been to lots of Catholic services and you politely turn to your neighbor and shake their hand or give them one of those pat on the back hugs and say “peace be with you” or something to that means. That’s sweet, but nothing like what we were about to experience. A woman from the row in front of us came back and pulled my friend into a bear hug from which they both emerged grinning and giggly. Then it was my turn and I was enveloped in the most profound hug I’ve ever experienced. I hugged back, but she held on and started swaying back and forth until I relaxed into her and *poof* my insurmountable wall vanished. We came out of our hug with tears in our eyes and smiles on our lips.

Later during “Agape Time” the preacher asked everyone to go to the opposite side of the church to hug people that you didn’t know. They say that getting five hugs a day does wonders to improve health and I believe it.

We went back last night. :)