A FAMILY GATHERING
When all my children were still at home, Sundays were a relaxing, family-oriented day. We shared a country breakfast, worked together to clean up afterward, then spent a leisurely afternoon watching movies. Evenings featured a family-style Sunday meal, and a quiet few hours together before the kids went to bed. Never did we feel lonely or at-a-loss for what to do with our time. It was a day to just kick back together and rest up from an activity-filled week.
By the time my kids were grown, their father and grandmother (who lived with us) had both passed away. Suddenly, I found myself facing long, empty Sundays filled with hollow time. If Hallmark or Lifetime wasn't running a string of warm-fuzzy movies I could lose myself in, Sundays stretched on forever. They felt interminably lonely.
Shortly after a new man entered my life, I was led to The Little White Church, where I found a warm, wonderful way to fill up my Sunday mornings. Again I found myself surrounded by people who genuinely cared about me. But there's a let-down that follows such an uplifting morning of worship - especially if one goes home to an empty house afterward. It's like having all the air let out of a balloon at once. For me, that feeling was intensified when Richard was gone and, as a truck driver, he's gone a LOT.
Then the Sunday came when friends invited me to a pot luck lunch, after church, at the Gathering Place. Since the weather was good (church is a 26-mile drive into the Hills for me), and I had no one waiting at home, I decided to accept the invitation. I'm so glad I did.
The food that folks had brought was wonderful, but it wasn't the best part of the day. The humble little building that is the Gathering Place was filled with people . . . some I knew from church and some I'd never met. While we shared a meal together, we talked, became better acquainted, and shared various testimonies about how the Lord has worked in each of our lives. We talked about our families, our experiences, and our beliefs. We laughed and cried tears of joy together. While we shared the task of cleaning up dishes, we discussed how pleasant the day had been. Mur Anderson expressed it perfectly: "This is how Sundays used to be: family gathering to visit and share a meal." She was absolutely right. This day - spent sharing a midday meal with friends and church family - had felt JUST LIKE those wonderfully warm, relaxing Sundays we'd had when my kids were at home. Right then and there, it was decided that we should repeat this pot luck every Sunday at 12:30.
Today, I stay in Hill City for Pot Luck every chance I get. Most weekends, Richard is on the road somewhere, and there's no one waiting for me at home. My children are scattered all over the Globe. Still, my Sundays are no longer lonely or empty. I spend them here, at the Gathering Place, surrounded by a family waiting to share the day, and the noon meal, with all who pass through the door. We laugh, talk, share stories, and testify - sometimes for hours after the food is gone. There are weeks I don't get home until after 6:00 p.m. But there is no let-down . . . no dread of coming home to an empty house. Instead, I am at peace. I arrive home filled to overflowing with the warmth of fellowship . . . feeling relaxed, happy, and loved.