Home or in Bozeman, the same but different

o7Wonder is reverence for the infinite values and meaning of life,

and marveling over God’s purpose and patience in it all.

f7 -- GEORGE WALTER FISKE

{LDQUO}Would it work well if I tried to use shoe polish to whiten

my teeth?” the woman asked the group of children who sat in a

semi-circle around her.

The boys and girls shook their heads in unison and emphatically

answered, “No!”

One little girl, who was about five years old, said, “No way, and

it would be a yucky mess too.”

The teacher smiled and then asked, “OK, how well would it work if

I tried to toast marshmallows by putting them in my toaster?”

This time, all the children laughed and one boy shouted out, “It

would be messy, but then we could make s’mores. Now I’m hungry for

s’mores.”

The woman, who was their Sunday school teacher, laughed and said,

“We’ll have snacks in a little while, but I asked those questions

because they show that things work best when they’re used for the

purpose they were made. Do you know why God made us, what our purpose

is in life?”

A little hand shot into the air and a little girl answered, “We’re

supposed to love God.”

The teacher complimented her and added, “Yes, we were made to

glorify God, and to love and enjoy him forever.”

The teacher and the children then rose and walked through the door

to their classroom.

The scene I described happened in a quaint little white country

church in Montana, originally built in the late 1800s.

My husband Jon and I went to Montana last month for business and

to see friends. It was interesting when I called the two different

couples we know who live in Bozeman, Mont., that they both invited us

to visit their church by using the identical words.

“You’ll have to come to church with us,” they each said. “We go to

a cute little church outside of town, with less than a hundred

people, but the pastor and everybody are great; you’ll just love it.”

When they both described it the same way, I knew they had to be

talking about the same church, and they were. It is quite a

coincidence that the two families we know who used to live in

Southern California and attended a large church, found themselves at

the same small church. We loved seeing our friends, and we loved

their church.

The people were warm and welcoming, and they all knew each other.

We enjoyed the sharing, the singing and the message, and we could see

why our friends went there.

It was a reminder that it doesn’t matter where or what size a

church is. What counts is the people loving God and one another.

We did have to laugh at one major difference from our church,

however. At the end of the service, someone announced that it was the

last week to buy tickets to their barn dance and auction that was to

be held the next week. Auction items included four hours of backhoe

service; a whole lamb, cut and wrapped; and baled hay in large and

small squares.

There will always be differences among church practices, but what

counts is our shared purpose of loving God.

And you can quote me on that.

* CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks

frequently to parenting groups. She may be reached via e-mail at

[email protected] or through the mail at 537 Newport Center

Drive, Box 505, Newport Beach, CA 92660.