I spent 2 ½ hours driving around Charlotte the other day. 150 minutes and I didn’t go further from home than 5 miles. I drove to pick the youngest up, after waiting in the school pick-up line. This line must be the only place in Charlotte that does not get internet, and you can’t get on the school's wifi, so that line is extra especially long. Then, off to the eldest to pick him up from a sporting event. Not an exciting day.

 

How many hours do we sit and slog? Through traffic, through fine print, through ... please pay attention as our menu has recently been updated, and we thank you for your patience. We are experiencing unusually high call volume. 

 

I know I’m not alone here. I also know I don’t bear the brunt of the burden. My wife, as I suspect many other women, seems to get the bulk of this kind of work. Get the kids ready, pick them up, do the grocery shopping and kiss the boo-boos. 

 

It wears. None of these things are particularly hard but there is no moment of rejuvenation. There is only give. 

 

I think this is part of the reason I often hear “I need that” from those who went to Church. Worship on a Sunday can, potentially, be another slog. But I hear regularly how, in the middle of the mire, people are lifted up. Worshiping our LORD is renewing.

 

As much as I would love to take credit for bringing a great sermon or point out our elite music I think there is more. There is fellowship with people we know and who know us, and that is pivotal, but there is still more. We are renewed by the Holy Spirit Himself. He meets us in the pew, through the Word preached, the grace sung and the friends we encounter. The Spirit meets us in the slog and, just like that, the slog is a little more manageable. 

 

Worshiping Jesus is the reminder that we are more than our to-do list; we are children of God. We are His pride and joy. When we encounter our LORD in worship we are reminded who and whose we are. We are loved. We are saved. Thanks be to God.