Day 6 :: Church Family

I've come to enjoy Sundays a lot more than I used to. As a Christian, that probably sounds bad, so hear me out.

When we first attended our church, we knew no one. We loved the teaching, but it's a huge church and it's hard to meet people in a congregation that size. We started attending in the early summer of 2008 and joined a small group that fall.

Through our first small group, we met several couples, so it was comforting to see an occasional friendly face on Sunday mornings. Through our small group growing over the next few years and after joining another small group when that one disbanded, we slowly got to know more and more people better.

We started establishing more relationships and getting to know people on a deeper level. We stopped sitting alone and essentially became part of our church family.

But for about five years, Sundays were very lonely days for me. They were the days I missed my family the most and the days where I longed to have my family close enough for Sunday dinner or lunch or just to watch football... and that's saying a lot because I am anything but a football fan. Just ask my husband.

For the last year and a little longer, I've come to love Sundays. Our small group family really is a family. Two of the very best friends I've ever had attend church and we typically go to lunch with our families after church every Sunday. We do life together... when it's tidy and when it's messy. And we sit under some of the best teaching I have ever heard week after week.

Sundays have become a day of intentionally building those relationships. I love these people and they've truly become our family away from home. It's wonderful and I no longer feel lonely on Sundays. Our lives are full of the best people and I'm so, so grateful.

If you're in a church and you're lonely and feel like you aren't connecting with people, just keep trying. Give it time, join a small group, serve in different ministries, and pray about it. Be intentional about trying. I truly understand that it's hard and it's my prayer that you feel connected soon. God is good!

This is the sixth post in my 31 Days of Being Imperfectly Intentional series.