Today Bob and I had the honor of visiting my brother-in-law and sister-in-law’s church, and participating in our nephew’s baptism as his Godparents. What an honor!

We had the kids with us, and while I prepped them for the fact that they would be coming up front with us, and what the baptism would be like, I didn’t prep them for the fact that they would be sitting with us for a good while before the baptism segment of the service. My bad. The kids were ok, no outbursts or tears, but they were pretty restless. DD kept climbing all over us, and DS kept leaning over to me and whispering (in his loudest whisper) that the priest was pronouncing "God" wrong (he said it with a bit of an accent.)

In spite of the kids climbing everywhere but atop my head, I was able to catch a bit if the priest’s sermon, most notably an illustration he used. He described a host preparing a big meal, and setting a comfortable mood with lovely music. The guest arrives, sits right down and eats the meal, obviously enjoying it. And yet, as the guest eats, he says nothing to his host. Not a word. The guest is enjoying the music, but does nothing to thank the host, still saying nothing to him. Finally, after polishing off dessert without a word to the person who prepared it, the host, angry and confused, says "Why aren’t you speaking to me? What’s going on?" The guest replies quite flatly, "The food and music were quite lovely, but I really have no interest in you whatsoever."

The illustration was a simple one, one I kind of dismissed initially. To me, it illustrated someone enjoying aspects of faith (church, etc) but doing nothing to get to know or communicate with God. But as I thought about it further, it impacted me. It got me wondering – what kind of dinner guest am I? I allowed myself to expand on the details of the illustration to make it more personal. I pictured myself sitting down and eating, enjoying the music, but glancing at the clock. I talked with my host, but found myself distracted by what was going on outside. After finishing the meal, I quickly excused myself. "I’m really sorry, thank you for everything, we’ll have to do this again…but I’m really in a bit of a hurry tonight, I’ll stay longer next time."

It was a simple illustration, but a powerful one for me. An important reminder for me to slow down, focus on what matters most, and enjoy leisurely visits with an incredible Host!