Saving Grace

Yesterday morning as I was checking toddlers in at church, my boss gave me orders to page the grandma of one of our little boys because he had a rash on his skin and there was no explanation given as to what it actually was. Under normal circumstances, pagers are issued to the adults dropping the children off. But occasionally they aren’t handed out which as luck would have it…was one of those times.

Knowing this little guy’s grandma, I offered to go into the worship service to look for her, not thinking about this particular service being the largest in attendance over the weekend.

I walked through the doors during worship and began panning through the hundreds of heads that were standing. As I panned, more and more people poured through the doors to find seats which added more difficulty to what I was trying to do. After failing to locate her from the back I made my way over to one side, walking up and down the isles looking like a confused, lost soul. No luck on the left so I moved to the right. Up and down the isles, scanning hundreds of faces. Nothing.

A few of the ushers asked if they could help me look for someone, which would have been great had they actually known who the woman was!

I’m starting to get a headache…

I took a position at the back of the sanctuary once more as the congregation sat down for a moment. Back to front, side to side. Still nothing.

I walked back to the nursery to check in and give an update on my pathetic findings. I was informed to keep searching, as there was a room full of little ones and a single boy with an unidentified rash.

Back to square one…

This time, I started on the right. Walking up one isle and down the next, I was beginning to wish that I was carrying some sort of sign that indicated who I was looking for. More and more people could tell that I was struggling, or entirely crazy and would stop me to offer their help.

Now I was beginning to wish that our video screens had some sort of “ticker” scrolling across the bottom like on ESPN.

I went back to the nursery yet again, frustrated with myself. I felt as though I had been looking through a “Where’s Waldo?” book for the past half hour. I asked if there would be a way to have someone make an announcement before the sermon, or at least take this little boy into the sanctuary with me this time to attract attention. Permission granted! I scooped him up, knowing that somehow this time would be a success!

On the way in, I tried to make a game of it with him. “I need you to help me find your grandma, ok?” He smiled in excitement. As soon as we stepped inside, the lights went completely out. Seriously? After a few moments, they came back on and knowing the pastor would begin preaching very soon we hit the isles again. By this time the congregation had to think this was hysterical. Two sections down, and all of a sudden his little arm pointed straight out as he touched grandpa.

I’ll embarrass myself right now by saying that I eyed this woman several times. The only difference between this woman and the woman I was looking for was newly added highlights. I even questioned my co-workers. “Did any of you notice her hair today? Did she get highlights?” And the response given was no. So I dismissed the possibility. As the ever-so-annoying saying goes, “my bad.”

The whole congregation should have erupted with clapping and a standing ovation. After all, it was…well deserved. I’m joking. I was just ecstatic that this needle in a haystack adventure was resolved…

As relieved as I was, I became aware of how often I put myself through similar situations. Rather than taking the easiest way out, I stubbornly seem to think I can take care of everything myself. Rather than seeking first the wisdom from the One who knows me better than myself, I create my own navigation system through my life. Had I taken this little guy with me on the first trip I would have saved myself frustration, caused a little less distraction, and been available to do other things in that amount of time.

Sometimes I feel as though much of my life is wasted in trying to figure things out. Trying to locate Waldo in a sea of faces, feeling my way through the darkness, and feeding into my stubbornness.

Yesterday, my saving grace was a two year old boy. Every day, my saving grace is a Loving Father. I need to remember that…