So we are in the middle of our month-long trip through Colorado (visiting churches and saying goodbye to friends) and two things happened today that I just cannot pass up the opportunity to comment on.
The first situation takes place in our car on the way to church. Like all Sunday mornings, the Haberchak family was running late to church because…well, we can never estimate the right amount of time we need to get ready without sacrificing too much sleep. So Brent is driving like a madman and I’m scrambling to get my make-up done in the tiny mirror above my seat when I hear Beau and Kimi engaged in a conversation in the backseat. I hear Beau say the following:
“Kimi, this is not heaven, heaven is up there where Jesus lives. When we die we get to go there and meet Jesus. We get to go meet Jesus because we believe that he died on the cross for us. If you don’t believe that Jesus died on the cross then you go to the place of fire. But we get to go to heaven if we listen to Mommy and Daddy and go to the room that Jesus is making for us.”
My heart melted. Now a theologian might rip these statements apart but what Brent and I see in this statement is the development of a biblical worldview in our three-year-old son. We were so encouraged and excited to hear Beau sharing his version of the gospel with Kimi. God’s Word is getting through to him!
The second situation I want to share is a “just because.” It’s one of those moments that I have to document because it goes a long way to keeping us humble. So like I mentioned, we were late to church. Now this is a big church, the biggest we’ve been to in a long time so it was okay we were a little late because nobody knows us and we could sneak in and out. (This is also a church that will be potentially partnering in ministry with us and we had a meeting schedule with a pastor after service). So we sneak in, right to the front middle of the sanctuary, where the usher directs us. We sneak in with three kids under four.
Music is playing and we’re good. Under the radar. But then Luke starts fussing and I motion to Brent that I’ll be having to take him out soon. Music stops and Luke gets louder. The pastor comes up as a hush comes over the congregation and I prepare to leave with Luke. Somehow I notice Kimi leaning forward in her chair and all of a sudden she falls forward and smacks her face right into the metal of the chairs in front of us. I see the scream build up and I motion to Brent to get her out of the sanctuary before she blows. He doesn’t make it. She screams for the entire trip to the back of the sanctuary (remember that usher put us in the front middle?). Great. So now I’m stuck with a baby that’s about to start crying and a three year old boy saying, “I want to go to my class!”
How do I get out ten seconds after my husband runs out with a screaming little girl without being seen? I can’t. Now, mind you, we’ve only been in church for about ten minutes at this point. But Luke continues to increase in volume and the looks are changing from “oh there must be a cute baby back there” to “what is that mother thinking bringing that baby in here?” I am well versed in these looks because Luke inspires a lot of them. Anyways, I decide the only way to get out is to get up and walk the fifty yards up the aisle with as much dignity as I can muster in the huge, quiet, new sanctuary. I grab Beau’s hand and begin the walk. Halfway back I’m jerked to a stop as Beau falls flat on his face in the middle of the aisle. So much for under the radar.
I met Brent out in the foyer and we decided to put all the kids in childcare. The church is big and the check-in process took 20 minutes leaving us 20 minutes left of the service to sneak back up the aisle where we left our stuff, take a seat, and pretend we’ve been sitting there the whole time. We believe we will be getting involved in this church and now the back half of the sanctuary during first service will see us up on the screen in a few months and think “where have we seen that family before?” Hopefully, that’s all the recognition that’s triggered and they will forget the events of the morning that will remain embedded in our memories for the embarrassment they caused.
Joey Hahne says
Awesome stories, both of them!!!