They can't cancel church!

Ice. Not the kind you put in your sweet tea to make it perfect, not the kind you pack a cooler for the game with, no, we're talking the kind that blankets your car, the roads, the street signs, EVERYTHING. We are accustomed to ice in my neck of the woods. We usually have a day or even two of it during our winters...but not the kind we've had this week. It has been a paralyzing ice/cold/snow mix that has left most businesses shut down and me and B. trapped inside. She hasn't minded that school has been cancelled or that she can't play with friends. She's enjoyed our Little House on the Prairie marathons, playing restaraunt, and reading all kinds of books. Each day we have gotten a call telling us school has cancelled, again. On Wednesday the phone rang and I answered assuming it would be another such call. But it wasn't. It was our church's call tree telling us church had been cancelled due to the inclement weather. I was honestly relieved. I wasn't sure if I wanted to take B. out in the bitter cold. And, I was all warm and toasty myself. I knew not very many people would get out and what was the point really?

"Did they cancel school again, mommy"? B. asked while playing with her doll house.
"Not yet. That was a call to say they've cancelled church tonite"
B., jumping to her feet and instantly getting teary, "WHAT? THEY DID WHAT?"
"Cancelled Bible class for tonite".
"They can't cancel church!!!! How could they do that? WHY would they do that? WHAT is wrong with them"?
"It's not safe for everyone to get there honey".
"But, I...love...hearing about God...and...seeing...everyone...and spending time...with...other christians. I want to go to church...I need to go to church."

I sat holding my crying daughter and thinking, shame on me. I was looking for an excuse to get out of going. I was dreading being uncomfortable long enough to get there and I was too selfish to care who else would be there. It's amazing to me how much we adults learn from kids. How wonderful it is to see "church" through my daughter's eyes. Granted, she's 8. It's mostly social and a chance to play with her friends right now, but that is part of it. God gave us such a wonderful gift in the church. In all the hustle and bustle of daily life, church budgets, curriculum, youth activities, teaching your little to listen and learn, care groups, fellowship dinners, missions, follow up's, prayer meetings and on and on, we often loose that childhood love of going to church. Somewhere along the way it becomes a chore. We get lost in the grind and forget about the simple pleasure of "hearing about God and spending time with other christians". How wonderful every congregation, big or small, young or old, traditional or contemporary, would be if each of us felt that way. The wonderful things that could be accomplished for Christ if we all WANTED to go. If we NEEDED to go. I've got a brand new new year's resolution! It's never too late for an attitude adjustment, is it? What about you? Would you cry if they cancelled your "church" for a night?