for poor

So I went to church the other day... that wouldn't surprise some people, but I guess some people would be surprised. I have nothing against church. I used to enjoy it. I loved getting caught up in meeting people and trying to wow them with your Sunday best. There were pizza nights and youth group and there was this general lovey-dovey-warm-fuzzy-kind-of-feeling when you walked in. People are supposed to like you when you walk in. (whether or not it happens is a different story!) You are supposed to learn deep mysteries about the world here and beyond. Your brain and heart are supposed to be challenged as you meet with other serious spiritual seekers!



But its been a long time since I have been. And the reason I went the other day was for work.



So I have been thinking about the whole church thing. I was blown away with the beauty of this particular church and just all that it has to offer in terms of atmosphere and awe. I was dwarfed by its high arching ceilings and stained glass windows. There were candles in there that were bigger than I am! Everything in there is carefully crafted with a purpose and with beauty. I know that God doesn't literally live in the church, but us humans have built a pretty nice cage for Him (Her/They... i will go with Him simply because that is what I am used to. God is beyond gender and what kind of genatalia He posesses is really irrelevant.) So anyways... I went to church... I always get so sidetracked on weird tangents! I was listening to the Father deliver a message and I watched the eyes of a lot of people light up. Even though it was just for a wedding people were in there looking for answers and looking for something more. It made me miss where I have been. I like looking for answers and my eyes will light up with every opportunity I get, but church is not the place where I want to do that anymore.

I want to experience God and truth and love outsides the sterile confines of the sanctuary. I want to interact, experience, try, fail, and live out this faith, this hope, this spirituality... whatever you want to call it! There is dangerous safety and safe danger out there and I want to live it!

I have no issue about doing that with a church. There have been churches, pastors, and even christians that have inspired me to seek out the best for myself and others. It can be done! I long to go to a building, a sanctum, that lives the life that they advertise and can positively influence me to do the same outside the confines of its walls.

So all this to say that I went to this church to "work." I stood in awe and the beauty of a building that I hope was inspired by the awe, majesty, and beauty of the Creator (there! no gender identification!). I was inspired to quietly contemplate beauty. I was pushed to be still and silent and take in the grandeur that surrounded me. I was challenged to rethink the way that I interacted with things greater than me and why I wasn't doing this more often.

There was also a little metal box that read "FOR POOR thank you." There is a deeper message in there somewhere and I can't wait to find it.