This past Sunday I had a friend who was very upset about missing Church. She posted on Facebook at around three in the morning that she was very anxious and wide awake. She said that she was so worried about missing Church that there was no way that she could attend her weekly meetings without any sleep. She ended up missing Church.
There is a back story to my friend. My friend is very ill and she is declining. She has many health issues and the worst one is Fibromyalgia. Basically she lives in a motorized wheelchair and can only walk a few feet from say a chair to a bathroom in a familiar surroundings.
I don't know, if you know anything about Fibro or not, but it is one of those misunderstood afflictions that even Health Professionals mock. I used to mock it until I was diagnosed with it. I simply could not believe that people who seem perfectly healthy could be in such physical pain. It is true, they can be in horrendous amounts of pain and look perfectly normal.
For me, I refuse to take narcotics for pain relief and only would take the least. Being something called Ultram. This is a common analgesic used in Europe that can be purchased over the counter (I believe this to be true). Any way, I did some research on Ultram and found out that it is highly addictive and with my Doctors approval decided not to take it anymore. I was only taking one at night. However, I would rather not be addicted to anything. I take a spice now and Motrin for pain and a lot of analgesic pain cream. Along with some other things for my brain that I might never be able to not take. Sigh.
Anyway, my Friend takes a lot of narcotics for her pain relief along with a cocktail of other medications for different diagnosis's. She can hardly walk. She falls out of bed at night because she is rolling around in pain. I suggested a bed rail. You know like for a toddler but for an adult. I pictured her rail was the color purple, her favorite color, decorated with glitter. She ignored my suggested. I don't think she liked it (snicker). Hey, what are friends for, but to be snarky and poke fun at each other.
I could not get my Friend out of my head. She was so unhappy and feeling as if she failed Heavenly Father with her sketchy Church attendance. I kept thinking about what the bible says about our bodies. How they are just temporary shells. Well, it does not say that exactly but that is how I understand the words to mean.
The Bible also talks about our bodies being temples. I met this one lady who once said that she would never have a tattoo or body piercings because God said no tattoos or body piercings and that she honored her body for the Lord. Yet, she had tattooed eyebrows (they were sharpies brows, lol), tattooed eyeliner, tattooed lips and double pierced ears. Interesting?
Perhaps what Heavenly Father means, by a temple is to keep your body as clean as humanly possibly, be modest, try and be free of disease, eat healthy...etc. There is a long list. Maybe, I might be stretching it here but moderation in all things, do the best you can with what you have and improve as you go.
She posted on Facebook that she failed for not going to church. I posted back (this is much longer because I can be longer here) that she did not fail. That our bodies are just shells and that our souls are eternal. That I thought that Heavenly Father really did not care one red cent, if anyone stepped foot in a Church Building or not. That there are people who are being held captive in non Christian lands out there that cannot attend Church, People who are not allowed to worship God at all, People who because of their circumstances cannot attend Church.
I posted that she needed to worship were she stood. To simply let God enter her soul and let it be. To just be. I wanted to tell her that loving God and letting God love you does not happen in a Church building. That going to Church is a privilege not a right nor an obligation that is even necessary since God is everywhere, since God is in your eternal soul and not in a Church building. God does not take attendance. People take attendance.
I mean, it is not like once you get to Paradise there is going to be someone with a clipboard and that person is going to say, Oh. There you went to Church 70 times in your lifetime and missed 700 times. You now get to go to sit in this dark room for 1000 years and think about what you have done. You say, but I have prayed every day and loved the Lord with all my heart. I have done good my whole life and lived a life for Heavenly Father. I have given him credit and been obedient except attend Church. I have loved my family and been a good Father and Husband. I have given to my Community and been honest in my dealings. I have worked hard. The man with the clipboard says, Sorry, to the dark room with you. You skipped Church.
The next man comes up. He went to Church every Sunday and attended all Church Meetings for his whole life but his heart is dark and his soul bitter. He was a horrible husband and a mean father. He cheated in business and lied. The man with the clipboard says, Oh. You, get to enter Paradise because you attended Church and all your meetings. The man sticks his tongue out at the man in the dark room. Skipping into Paradise and singing past the clipboard guy.
I don't think so. I believe and I think that God knows your heart. He knows what you have done. If you confess and are truly sorry or not. He is God after all. He knows everything. God is our Father and wants us to be happy and be the best we can be. He is like any parent. He might be disappointed or sad by what we do but as long as we do our best and improve as we go, he will keep clapping and cheering for us like any dad as the worst player on the soccer team gets to play for five minutes and the score is 50 to 0 and our team has 50 points.
If my Daughter were sick and could not attend Church, I would tell her to stay home and give her the same advice that I gave to my friend. I would love her no matter what. As long as my Daughter loved me and even, if she did not love me. Get it? God loves us no matter what.
I would tell my friend, if she chose to listen, to forgive herself for not attending Church and just let the Love of God be part of her every day life. To not worry about anything at all because in the end it really doe not matter anyway. Our bodies are so temporary and in the eternal time line not even a blink of notice. Before you know it, it will all be over anyway.
I would encourage my friend to be kind to herself because obviously she chose her body and her condition in the preexistence to teach herself and her family something. What that is only she and her family knows. Try and relax and remember then go for the ride. Who knows it can be fun.
Besides, Sundays can be fun days, if you want them to me. I have had a really amazing spiritual journey in my life. I have had the opportunity to pray and learn about so many different faiths. I consider myself blessed.
I suppose that is why I am so completely "a no matter what kind of person". I have learned that people have to do what they have to do and we do not live their lives when it comes to matters of spiritual matters.
Other things I have a different point of view and get my panties in a twist over but in matters of how you love God, I have no real opinion other than just love God and do your best to love others as you love yourself.
I really would love to go to Paradise someday. I don't care, if I end up sweeping the sidewalks there or polishing the fruit on the tree of life. I am sure whatever the lowest job is there that will be mine. I simply want to be there. However, in my heart of hearts I cannot be a bigot. I cannot be a racist (to me different things), I cannot say one religion is bad or good, (I am having a bit of trouble with Islam these days, I wish I wasn't but I am), I will not judge a persons choice of who they love or marry (sorry not my call, I will love everyone like I love myself), I will love everyone no matter what because that is what God said to do and besides I feel better loving people than hating them. At least I try to.
I love my friend. I worry over her almost daily. I pray for her nightly. She has moved far away and instead of seeing her all the time, I see her yearly. I am glad that there is Facebook and I can see what is going on in her life and I feel as though we are part of each others lives like before. Almost the same, Almost.
What do you think of Church? I wonder what others think in our modern age. Most people I know do not attend Church or even think of God at all. I am curious.
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