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When I lived at home, I was the only member of my family who attended church at all. I was extremely active in the church I attended.
A year ago, I remarried and moved about an hour away. The closest church of the same denomination is almost that far away, so I got some suggestions from my pastor and found a new church much closer to my home.
At Christmas, the pastor of the church I had attended before the move contacted me and invited me to the Christmas Eve service. I can't tell you how excited I was to know I would be in the area (because my family has always done the gift exchange on Christmas Eve).
Well, I get home for Christmas Eve, having been told the exchange would start at 6:00. The service was scheduled at 7:30. I get to my mother's house early to increase my chances of getting to the service. I had told both of my parents about my plans, and my dad totally understood. (Even though the last time he was inside a church was probably about 14 years ago, he understood how important this was to me.)
By 7:00 there was still no sign of the START of the family celebration. As it turns out, we were waiting for my oldest nephew to get there, and he wasn't due until 7:30 or later. My dad explained to my mother that I had intended to go to church, and that he thought it would be nice to let my husband and I do our exchange so we could go. My mother looked so hurt, as if I had never mentioned it to her at all. This was not the case, but I'm sure she had a lot on her mind hosting all of us, so I said nothing to keep the peace.
Everyone who was there heard that I was planning to leave, and my oldest brother asked why I wanted to go to church of all places. His exact words.... "who would want to go to CHURCH at CHRISTMAS?"
By the time things started to settle, the service at that church was well under way, and quite possibly over. Needless to say, I didn't make it. The service at my local church had been scheduled for 6-6:30 that evening, so I had missed it for the exchange as well.
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