A Sunday in the Life of a Church Planting Wife

Sunday. . .it is traditionally the holiest of days. . .at least that is what I was taught as a kid. My thoughts on the matter? Sunday. . .it is the CRAZIEST of days. But maybe that's what ends up making it so holy. . .

Yesterday I woke up to what I had braced myself to be a fast a furious exercise of leading and directing and mothering and running back and forth and driving and smiling and. . . I knew it was going to be jam packed. I knew it was a day that I was going to wear 42 hats instead of the usual 20. But I never could have prepared myself in full for the whirlwind that it quickly became. And I could have never imagined the crazy sense of fulfillment that it gave me at the end of it all when I finally snuggled into my pj's and fell quickly asleep to the voice of Paula Dean as I ended it all with Paula's Party on the FoodNetwork.



5:45am - alarm goes off - I only hit snooze 2 times!

6:15am - shower, dress, gather all the last supplies for church, out the door

7:15am - Safeway hadn't even finished making their fresh bread for the morning. . .communion bread and grape juice would have to be bought later. BUT Starbucks is already open. . .Tall Americano with cream, please!

7:30 - Unload my van at the doors of the school - trays and bowls for Communion, 4 boxes full of children's supplies, oj, half and half, coffee to be made, bags of nursery items, my purse, my Starbucks. . . all unloaded. AND the door is locked! I know Kevin is in there. . .bang, bang, bang on the door.

7:40 - "You really are early!!" - Kevin

7:45 - All the contents of the van are now in the school - Starbucks in hand. . .run. . .

8:00 - I have now run down the hallway to the gym of the school a total of 12 times delivering various kids supplies and getting things set up. The setup crew is here now. They (okay, I mean, Kevin :-) ) stole my cart so I am carrying everything down the LONG hallway by hand. . . this is where the smiling part came in handy. . .

8:20 - "Can you please make the coffee - make 30 cups, that's 3 cups of coffee - thanks, Matt." "Where is that box full of name tags we use for the kids check-in? Has anyone seen it? They must be lost. Martha, can you run to Wal-Mart and grab some? - O, and the communion bread , too, while you are at it?" "Kimberley, we had to set up the nursery in a different hallway today because they are cleaning out the classrooms and our usual spot is full of desks and books and globes from the library - can you manage?" "Kevin, you look stressed. . .how can I help? (Kevin) My cell phone isn't working and I'm leaving for South Carolina at 3:30. (Amy) Don't worry. Give it to me and I'll somehow take care of it." "There are chalk drawings all over the walkway coming into the school. Can somebody find a bucket of water and clean that up?" "Where are my keys?" "Who is working the greeting table today?" "Jenna, this is Amy. Did you find someone else to work in the nursery today since it's the 5th Sunday? Yep, they'll need a new name tag." "Can I give these snacks to our kids? I checked and they are peanut free, gluten free, wheat free. . .taste free. . .yep, they'll work." "Karen, I'm so glad to see you! I've gotta go home and pick up the girls and Kevin's mom. I'll get back as quickly as I can."

8:40 - Out the door of the school and driving back home

8:50 - Oops! That was a cop! (hold my breath and keep going) Whew!

8:56 - "Where's ECO?" - he needs breakfast, feed the fish, luckily all the girls have had their showers and are dressed. "SHOES! Would you girls please find your shoes? And please make sure they match! No boots, Olivia! It's 90 degrees outside!" "Get your hair brushed, brush your teeth, "No, you can't bring that rock to church or that Barbie or that magazine. Let's go, get in the car." "Please, please stop whining!"

9:15 - In the car headed back to the school.

9:20 - Greeted in the parking lot with more questions about children's activities for the day. . . Smile, more conversations, the band sounds great, "Is that coffee ready yet? My Starbucks got cold." Where are the keys to the cabinet? Are my teachers here yet? Emma, where's Emma? She is up in the tree outside with Dylan. "Emma, please don't fall. There is no time to go to the the emergency room this morning." "Olivia, stay inside and watch Presley." Claire needs orange juice. Looks like I'm working at the children's greeting table today. All ready to go. . ."I wonder what time the AT&T Store opens?"

10:15 - Everyone is in place. The kids are ready to start their classes. Emma and Dylan find their way out of the tree just in time to go to the gym. The band starts. Alena (2 years old) needs a sticker so she can stay in her class without mom. We take a walk to the cabinet to find just the right one. Finally in the service. Worship ends. Communion. . .video. . .

10:55 - The service is still going on. Kevin starts to speak. Out the door to figure out how to take care of this broken cell phone.

11:00 - Cell phone is dead. $300 for a new one.

11:20 - Back at the school just in time to catch the final song. Smile, smile, talk, talk, Say "hello" to some visitors. Gotta find Kevin's mom. Where did she go? Clean up the gym. Pack the cabinet. Load the trailor. Dump the coffee. Where are the girls?. . .running in the parking lot and hiding in the McCormick's van. Reload my van. Turn off all the lights. Whew!

12:30 - Drive out of the parking lot. Spend $75 on gas. Grab some Sonic for the road. Kevin has to go home to sync his new phone (which by the way, brightened his day). Let the dog out to pee. Jump in the car again and fly to the airport. 45 minutes later, hugs and kisses to Kevin and hurry up to get out of the departure lane before the security guard motions me along. Drive home 45 minutes.

3:00 - Crash. . . .

And there is still at least 7 hours left in the day. . .

To say that my day was crazy yesterday is an understatement. It was insane! But the oddest thing is that it was the greatest insanity. . .why? Because in the middle of it all I knew that I was doing exactly what I has created and equipped to do on that day. . . and I wouldn't want it any other way. Days like this are such a rush for me. I get so amazed when I see it all come together - all the craziness and frantic rushing - when it all does come together - when all is accomplished and well done - when it's finally dark and I'm in my pj's watching Paula's Party. . .it's almost like a holy moment. . .because there is no way I could have ever pulled it off on my own.