"I really had fun,” I told her. “Thanks for the party, Mother, even though the “surprise” portion of the party might have taken a couple years off my life! It’s not every day that a group of people jump out at me and shout in my face when I come home!”
Mother and I both had a good laugh.
“But seriously, Mother, it was a great party and I do appreciate all the trouble you went to."
“How about my thank you?" my dad was half-way teasing and he knew that I was on to him.
"That depends, Dad. Did you delete that horrible picture yet?" I said.
Dad laughed and said, "You'll be glad I kept this picture when you get older."
"Of course I will.” I said, not meaning it. “I’ll put it in a frame right next to the one of me as a baby with no clothes on! Sorry, Dad, but until you delete that horror shot, I will not be able to thank you for the party!” I said, trying to hide a smile.
But when Mother and Dad started laughing, I couldn’t hold back any longer. I joined in and had a good laugh. I felt very blessed right at that moment to have two very wonderful and loving parents.
Later that evening while we were sitting and talking before bedtime, I asked my parents something I had been thinking about asking them for quite a while. "Do you think we could visit a different church this Sunday?"
The look of dismay on my mother’s face told me her answer before she spoke.
“No, we are not...” Mother began but my dad interrupted.
"You know what?!” Dad said calmly. “Larry from work invited me to come to his church this Sunday. I didn't even know he was a Christian. From his description, it sounds like it might be very interesting and something different than what we’re used to.”
Right away I was intrigued. “What Dad?”
Mother wasn’t intrigued at all. She looked intensely at Dad and said, “So what’s wrong with what we’re used to?”
Dad put his hands up in a defensive manner. “Audrey, nothing is wrong with our church. A change of scenery is a good thing for everyone.”
My mother looked away and turned the evening news on. I think it was her way of saying she wasn’t interested without actually saying she wasn’t interested.
Dad winked at me and continued on. “Larry said his church is having an evangelist come to speak.”
“Wow.” That’s all I could think of saying.
My dad was fully aware that I would be for going. But he knew he had to clear it with the only one in the family who might veto it. He had to take the gentle approach.
“I told him I would talk to you, Honey.” My dad moved closer to my mother and gently put his arm around her. My dad was such a sweet man.
I darted a quick look at my mother. She wasn’t smiling – but the good news was that she wasn’t frowning either.
My dad knew there was more work to do and didn’t give up. “I'd hate not to go; Larry was really nervous when he asked me, so I know it took some courage on his part to invite his boss to church."
I hadn’t learned the cat and mouse game that grown-ups play so I just came out with what was on my mind.
Come on, Mother, it's my birthday!" I pleaded.
"Yeah, it's her birthday!" Dad said with a big smile. “And I got a photo to prove it.”
Mother sighed and looked at both of us for a few moments. Then she focused on me.
“Aysha, you just had your birthday party. Your birthday is officially over.”
“But Mother, I really want to go.” I felt so disappointed.
"Okay, I guess we can go," Mother said, as a little smile crossed her face that told me she had just been teasing me about not going.
"Yeah!" Dad and I yelled at the exact same time. Like two kids, we jumped on the couch and squeezed Mother between us for a big hug.
I was really looking forward to going to another church. We hadn't visited one since I was eight-years-old. Even then when I was just a little kid and had no strong opinions about our church, I felt a satisfying anticipation just thinking about visiting someone else’s church. And my good feelings about visiting the church, back then, turned out to be fulfilled. I enjoyed that church. Their music was beautiful and different than ours. The pastor was younger than Pastor Shelton and I enjoyed the way he added a little humor to his sermon, although he preached from scripture. I think his funny little remarks captured the attention of the younger set so that they would pay attention and also hear the Word of the Lord.
Looking back over my thirteen years, I guess I have always been curious about churches. I remember when a very close friend of Mother’s had invited us to her church. From what I can remember, everyone was friendly and seemed to enjoy the pastor. But I guess there were things that my mother had some issues with. I remember Mother telling Dad, the evening after church, what they (the pastor and the congregation) should and shouldn't have done during service. I swear I remember my mother complaining that she saw several members of the congregation who weren’t paying attention to the sermon. She said some were talking, some kids were playing with toys and she saw one older man dozing off. It seemed as though she had a similar critique about that church that I recently had about ours.
I leaped out of bed and rushed to the shower. I quickly dried off and put on one of my favorite outfits. I surprised my dad when he saw that I was dressed and ready to go when I went down for breakfast. "Well, you're all dressed to go, aren't you?" Dad asked with a sly smile. “You got ready in record time.”
"Yep, I'm even going to take notes," I said as I reached in my purse and pulled out my paper and pen and held them up for him to see.
"Still working on the deal?" he asked quietly.
We referred to Dad’s challenge to me as “the deal,” code language in case Mother was within earshot.
"That's what the paper and pen are for," I responded just as quietly.
Mother walked into the kitchen just then and we both said, "Good morning!" Our happy chorus made Mother smile.
"Well, you two are happier this Sunday morning, more than normal. What's up – as if I didn’t know.” Mother said as she was pouring a hot cup of coffee.
"We get to go to Larry's church this morning... remember?" I said. I had no doubt that my mother remembered we were going to Larry’s church. There they go again – those adult cat and mouse games! Kids are more open and honest. I think being “subtle” is a learned skill and kind of an annoying and confusing one at times.
"Going to visit a different church makes you happier than going to our church?" Mother said with a slight look of surprise, although I was sure she already kind of knew the answer.
"Sure. I like to see what goes on in other churches. And it gives me something to compare our church with.”
Sensing that Mother wasn’t totally happy with my answer, I quickly added, “But I guess I'm a little nervous too, since we don’t know exactly what to expect.”
After we ate some of Mother’s yummy French toast and cleaned up a bit, we were finally ready to get in the car and visit Larry’s church. I felt excited.
I really got nervous when Dad took a wrong turn on the way to the church. I didn’t want to miss any of the service. But Dad was unfamiliar with the streets and was trying his best to find his way. It wasn’t a problem because he got us to the church just a few minutes after the service started. As we walked in, the congregation was singing what we learned later from the program was the first hymn.
