As if it weren't enough of a distraction to watch my handsome husband behind the drum kit during worship last night, a mom brought her child and plopped him down at our table for the entire Bible study time. Fortunately, our guest speaker was entertaining (and loud) enough to almost keep me on track.
I like children, especially my own. When I'm trying hard to concentrate, though, things like rhythmically bumping the table get on my last nerve. And every 6.2 minutes, the mom hissed: "Ssssssstop that!" I wasn't tempted to say anything until he started whining for Curly Sue's MP3 player.
Wednesdays are long for my children, church-wise. We typically arrive at the building around 3:30 so that I can help prepare food for the 400 people that we typically feed. Larry, being a middle-schooler, can go into his program around 4:30 but the littles are stuck amusing themselves until 5:45. Yesterday was cold and windy and not a playground-type day, so Moe brought Legos and Curly Sue her MP3 player. They left their things at my table to go to their program, and this child was determined to have her MP3 player. And I was determined to see that he didn't.
Fortunately, I didn't need to step in, but the child got so upset when his mom told him he couldn't take the player that he started choking. And coughing and coughing and coughing and coughing and bumping the table every time he coughed and bumping the table some more...
At this point I could barely hear the speaker and was wishing heartily that this woman would take. her. child. out. But then I started thinking...
What if she's new here? What if this is her very first night, and she doesn't know if there's a program for her child, or where to sign him in, or where to take him? Maybe he's been sick and she didn't want to miss church, and she didn't have someone to watch him at home. Maybe she's a single mom and this is her only child, and she just doesn't want to be separated from him during worship.
While I'm certain last night's speaker had some insight to share, maybe I couldn't hear him because God was trying to tell me something else through a little boy's antics. And I wasn't listening.
