Complicated Inspiration

I went to "Get my praise on" with Deb yesterday and it was amazing. Divine, actually. It was the first time I have ventured into a church just to go in over a decade, maybe even more. I wasn't even married in a church. I did that at the "We've only just begun" wedding chapel. Don't go there. Statistically, the average American marriage lasts 7 years. I nearly doubled that.

I did have my kids baptized in a church and they continued Sunday school and even their educations in parochial schools, but I've always kept my distance. I have many reasons for it. The primary excuse I used was that I was born a Baptist, raised Lutheran, educated Catholic and chose to be baptized Episcopal and even with that, during college, I experimented with Buddism, and currently I enjoy reading about Islam and Kabbalah. Not because they happen to be the thing to do. I've had the books I'm reading on the subjects for over a decade too...but more so because I'm at a point in life when defining my higher power has greater meaning for me.

So when Debbie asked me to go to church, I hmmm'd and ha'd and said "Sure" but I wasn't certain I would really commit and go. I told her I would see how I felt. That's me code for, "Girl, it depends if I'm sleeping in or not". To Debbie's credit, she knows me well. She sent an email to all of my email accounts and left a message on my cell phone and landline that said, 'We're going to get our praise on tomorrow. I'll pick you up at 10". Well, no room for no.

It worked. I was dressesd and re'd to go and prime to get my God on when she arrived. The church itself is a large building that could easily pass for a community center, which really makes sense. The Church she attends more closely resembles one that you would find lower on the Mason-Dixon and yes, there were theatrics, but ya know when someone gets the spirit, I say, "It's your thang, do what ya wanna do. I can't tell ya how to catch a groove". I do the Salt N Pepa version because that's just my GEN. Do what it do.

We strolled in, waited until the ushers seated us, which is easy for Debbie since she is in a wheelchair...she's always got a good seat for every show, ya know? The service began with some bits of testimony where people acknowledge how God has moved in their lives, some divine miracle like knocking out that rent payment. No comment. Then, the choir got up and sang and sang and sang. Their voices lifted, the old addage of 'when two or more are gathered' was ever present and I felt it.

The soul was there. There was feeling behind every word they used in praise of God's work. For some reason, it was vastly different than the vocal performances that I've witnessed at every church since arriving in this state 30 years ago. Well, 32,but I didn't want to date myself. I don't want to make it a difference in white and black, but it just happens to be just that. The difference between Amy Grant and CeCe Winans I guess. I was so moved during one song that I reached into my purse, grabbed my handy dandy notebook ( yes, I know I've watched Blue's Clues too often) and started writing. I was inspired and a woman's story came to me. The words came faster than my fingers could write, but I got the nuts and bolts down. I got a title as well and for me, that's the skeleton. Now, I can use my mind to tell this story and add flesh to those bones.

The sermon was about Jacob and Esau and I have no intention of telling it again. There are enough versions of the Bible out there for anyone that cares, but the Bishop wanted to know which of the brothers we all were. There is no doubt I am a Jacob. I get in where I fit in and when I don't fit in, I make a way and GET THERE. My mind is my trump card and I carry it in a pocket protector called faith.

What's complicated about that, you may ask? Well, nothing really...except that on the way home after the 3 hour service, I was dicussing a personal situation with Deb. I told her that sometimes it's almost like we need a bolt of lightening to tell us if we are on the right path or not. Just then, a car swerved in front of us with a window decal that had one word on it. It was definitely specific to what we were just discussing and so so out of place. There are no coincidences. That bolt of lightening is quite complicated because it means I have to take action and be accountable in a situation that affects more than just me. What can I say, it's complicated.