Rally Day

Good Morning Family, Friends, Followers,

I want to write about Rally Day. For those of you who are not familiar with the term "rally day" it is the beginning of a new Sunday School year. I had never heard this term before moving here, but it appears many of our area churches (am I'm sure yours as well) use this term to signify the transition from one Sunday School class to the next. For one reason or another, my family has never attended church on Rally Day Sunday. This Rally Day was different - Frank and I are teaching Mary Frances' Sunday School class this year. I am truly looking forward to being more involved in the Christian education process at the Advent, getting to know her church friends, getting to know more parents from the church, but most of all for sharing this experience with Frank. We missed the calling last year, when Mary Frances was in the 3K class which is the first year of real Sunday School, not nursery. At some point during the year we decided we would teach each of our children during their 4K year so here we are at the beginning.

First, let me say it is going to be a challenge to get all five of us to the church and the two little ones delivered to the nursery by 8:30 each Sunday, but I know we can do it. Yesterday went off without a hitch! In fact it was the calmest I have ever gotten in the car to get downtown for church. Usually my blood pressure is sky high by that point. Minus Walker's tears and Stephen's melancholy expression here is a picture to prove it...

What I really wanted to say is how overjoyed I was as Frank and I each held one of Mary Frances' hands to walk into "big church." I look at Mary Frances each day and think how big she has gotten. As we walked through Clingman Commons, we were surrounded by adults and older children. There she was right between us with the biggest, proudest smile on her face, and I realized how little she still is and how much she still gets to experience. I am thankful that we still have so much time together! I also realized how hard it is going to be on me (not her) to watch her go to kindergarten next year. My eyes were blurry with tears as we entered the sanctuary and then sang one of my favorite hymns which is usually reserved for All Saints Day (I Sing a Song of the Saints of God) -All of this over my oldest being in church with us instead of the nursery. You never know when joy is going to fill you to overflowing.

The other highlight of the morning was picking Stephen up from his new class. Stephen is a smart cookie and wants to do everything his big sister does. While he didn't vocalize it exactly, I think he was none too happy that she was staying with us, and he got to go to the nursery. Thankfully, we rode the elevator and walked into class with a neighbor/friend so the screaming had subsided, and I think he had a wonderful first Sunday. He ran to me, carrying his church bag which is as big as he is, and said "My new class fun" in his sweet two year old speech that often only a mother can understand - warmed my heart to overflowing again.