January 19, 2000
DOWN HOME:
After a dozen-plus years,
dad knows where to go
___Butterflies whirred through my stomach last Wednesday night.
___No, it wasn't the crush of late-afternoon rush-hour traffic. Nor the fast-food muchaco I gobbled down on the way from work. Not even the after-effects of a church business meeting.
___I joined our church's choir.
___"That's no big deal," you say.
___"Hah!" I say.
MARV KNOX
Editor
___OK, the actual act of joining and attending my first choir practice didn't scare me. Larry, our minister of music, is a supportive friend, as are many longtime members of the choir. They made me feel wanted and welcome, even after many years of Sundays on the other side of the pulpit.
___What made me nervous was this profound sense of crossing a worship Rubicon, never to be traversed again.
___Years ago, when our daughters spent Sunday mornings in the nursery, Joanna and I both sang in the choir. But then Lindsay, our 16-year-old, turned 4 and started going to "Big Church."
___She needed somebody to sit with her, and I was the blessed one. So, for the past 12 years, I've worshiped alongside Lindsay and her sister, Molly, who recently turned 13. I've loved every minute of it.
___I'll remember many of those Sunday mornings for as long as I can pick up a Bible and cross a church threshold.
___Like when Lindsay was about 5, and we observed the Lord's Supper. The deacons had just passed the little wafers of bread, and I sat with my head bowed. For some reason, I opened my eyes and saw my daughter holding a Life-Saver exactly as I held a wafer. When the pastor finished his prayer, she put the candy in her mouth, exactly as I took the bread into mine. That was the most sacred communion of my life.
___I also recall countless times when Lindsay and Molly and I shared hymnbooks, as well as when they leaned against my shoulders and read the Scripture from my Bible.
___I treasure mental pictures of Lindsay or Molly snuggled by my side, wearing my suit jacket to ward off an over-zealous air conditioner breeze.
___Mostly, I've just enjoyed sitting with my girls on Sunday mornings. One of the thrills of fatherhood is needing to be needed. And fulfilling that need during worship service has been a parenting privilege beyond compare.
___Lindsay departed to sit with friends in the youth group about three years ago. Now Molly, who is too polite to admit it, is more comfortable sitting with her friends than her daddy.
___So, I know my place, and it's back in the choir. I'll miss those Sunday mornings with the girls. But I'll enjoy singing anthems and choruses with the choir. And I'll appreciate the excellent overview of where the teenagers sit.
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