The price of acceptance . . .

[pastor's wife]

(02-08-2011 12:20 PM)Natalie Wrote:  PW, I'm sorry that you guys have to experience that. I have some family that are that way, too. Not all of my family are as sweet as my mom and sister, which is who I was thinking about when I said "family".

I suppose I shouldn't have been so vague.

I didn't mean to come off super-sensitive! Family SHOULD always be there for you, loving and accepting, through all your life. Since I live far away from my family, I did consider church folks my family. My kids would only get to see their grandparents once or twice a year, but there were older folks in the church they saw two or three times a week for at least three hours every Sunday, two hours on Wednesday, and more with special events, church picnics, etc. I would have considered them family to me. Then our church split and they won't even talk to me or let their kids play with mine or care for my kids. The older lady who rocked all my kids in the nursery (my kids called her "Grandma") isn't in their life at all, nor is their Sunday School teacher, who used to write them notes and remember their birthdays. So real-life family and church family have both been a huge disappointment to me in many ways. I'm trying: 1) to just love them back and not hold grudges, 2) to move forward and not keep looking back at the people I loved who left our church, 3) realize that Jesus loves me, and 4) give my kids lots of love from me even if no one else is there for them.

Concerning people feeling accepted in church, my husband and I truly want our church to be like a family to each other, but since we're small, we know there will probably be some people who come in and don't connect or don't feel that they're being understood as much as they might elsewhere. We want to, like Paul, "be all things to all people" and care for everyone.

[pastor's wife]

@Natalie, I'm glad your family has been there for you! <3 I'd definitely say my parents are there for us in many ways (although they live far away), but I know they're disappointed that we're not KJV-only fundamentalists.