Yesterday a few of my friends wanted to go to a Nazarene church, however, none of us knew how to get to one. Yet with every convenience store, coffee shop, metro and national monument within walking distance, we paid little attention at the possibility of traveling very far. One glance at the Washington Metro trip planer made us reconsider our dedication to pursue Nazbo fellowship.
The mere two buses that it would take to get to Nazbo world would take a whole hour of traveling time.
At home, my church is twenty minutes away by car. (Fifteen if the right girl is driving) When and if I go to church on campus, I walk five minutes to any service of my liking. I am not used to going above and beyond my way to get anywhere. When I want shampoo, I expect a local and convenient Wal-Mart to greet me with a creepy yellow smile. And when I want to go church, I do not usually plan on taking an hour to get there.
Despite our hesitancy, we decided to give it a try at least once. What kept us from just giving up I will never know but I was thankful we went. The service was beautiful and complemented with overstuffed (free!) donuts.
I have had some time to reflect on our trip and I've come up with sobering revelations about myself. I wanted to go to church but I didn't want to work for it. Perhaps in too many ways I have been simply wanting God time only in areas convenient around me. It took two buses and an hour of being surrounded by strangers to discover that maybe church isn't about meeting God at the nearest church. Perhaps we can meet her in the strangers around us on the way there. I can use the time to quiet my over-stressed mind on the way to fellowship.
I am still trying out different churches but this small adventure has made me a little more aware of the meaning in the inconveniences around me.
It's all about the donuts. I found a Catholic church once and I hated 90% of everything about the parish...but they served donuts. It made me reconsider and go back again.
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