Surprised by gum!

Today in church I counted the number of young adults bringing coffee into the sanctuary with a bit of pride in my heart. No, a lot of pride in my heart! It really bothers me that the code of conduct in a Sunday morning church setting has changed over the past 20 years or so. It makes me feel old and I'm only 42. I don't seem to relate to my peers when it comes to attending church. And maybe they aren't my peers. I am no longer a young mother of 4 young children. I am a mother of four school age children, with silver strands of hair on my head to show for it. So, maybe I am in between the older generation and the younger generation: a 'tweener'. (actually, because of my birthdate, I am a baby buster; just after the baby boom and right before the generation x'ers.)

So, today as I pridefully count the number of coffee cups in the sanctuary (while I ought to be worshipping), I began to think about how to go about voicing my concerns to church leadership about the coffee in the sanctuary policy. Now, today's worship was WONDERFUL, so distracting myself with my own thoughts was a struggle, but I pressed on. I kept returning to the thought of how I would approach the issue without drawing attention to my own problem with judging others (or someone else's speck and my own plank). I asked myself, "Does drinking coffee prevent one from fully worshipping?" I looked around at those coffee drinkers and I saw one taking notes, appearing to be listening intently. And then it hit me. I WAS CHEWING GUM! Could there have been a time when chewing gum was frowned upon? Is chewing gum any different than drinking coffee in church? As far as I can see, no, it is just the same. I am taking some kind of personal enjoyment chewing gum, but it doesn't distract me from worshipping, singing, listening, praying....all important elements in attending church.

Sometimes I'm pretty dense. Or to put it in biblical terms....a pharisee. In the end I was no longer distracted by the coffee drinkers and I'm pretty sure no one was distracted by my gum chewing(because I don't chew loudly, pop bubbles, or crack it). Another surprise of God's grace given to me to change into his likeness....even just a little bit.