I’m sitting here in our church nursery rocking my 3-month-old. The adult class is streaming through the speaker, the cool air conditioning is refreshing to our hot summer day, and the rocking chair is comfy and quiet. Then I notice it, I forgot to put bloomers under the baby’s dress. Her fresh white diaper is a reminder of the whirlwind that is Sunday mornings.

You know what I’m talking about. No matter how you prepare on Saturday evening, Sunday mornings are still chaos.

They are in my house at least. There is always one child who cannot find shoes, not one of their three pairs. One child is crying because the dress is too itchy, the other is upset because I laid out the wrong dress.

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My son always has his mind set on bringing something in his pocket, this morning it was his new rock. We went to a rock expo yesterday, and he chose a very shiny piece of pyrite. He slept with it last night in anticipation of putting it in his pocket this morning. You see where this is going. The rock was lost this morning. In tears, we left the house rock-less.  

Breakfast is usually in the car on the way. This morning it was a granola bar and an orange. Who has time to eat breakfast at home on a Sunday morning? Do share your wisdom! 

Currently, all of the kids are in Bible class and I, as mentioned earlier, am quietly rocking the baby. I’ll enjoy these few minutes of calm.

I’ll listen to the words of the speaker and follow along with my Bible app. I’ll take in all I can because once Bible class is over, it is back to the grind. My older children do well with sitting still during the worship service. My 3-year-old not so much. The 6-year-olds switch out books quietly or draw in a journal, the older two like to take notes or draw. My 3-year-old needs a snack, to go potty, wants me to read her a book out loud, wants to know why I didn’t pack any toys, wants another snack, etc.  

It’s exhausting.

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All the while, I’m trying my best to keep her quiet while wrestling the baby who will be awake and babbling. Let’s not even discuss the anxiety of interrupting everyone around us with the amount of movement and noise coming from our pew. 

All of this said . . . it’s still so worth it. Let me encourage you to embrace the chaos and take your children to church.

While I do not get to listen as much as I would like to the sermon, what I do is enough. It’s enough during this stage. It does my heart good to hear the Word, sing praises to God, and enjoy the company of the other members. Oh, the fellowship! The encouragement, friendships, and people who love on my family as their own—it makes it all worth it. 

One day, it will be easier to get to the service and enjoy the entire lesson, but for now, I’ll embrace the chaos and take in everything I possibly can.