Rental Car Analogies.

Remember a while back when I posted Good Church Gossip?

Well, this past weekend marked the first time that our merged congregation was able to meet in the newly-renovated, old Sterling Park Baptist Church building.

It.  Was.  Glorious.

At least, it certainly was to me.  Ya know, we’ve been meeting in a school auditorium for so long, I forgot what it felt like to meet in a church building.  And as I considered the many ways that I could attempt to articulate the feeling that settled in my chest, here the one picture that felt right:

Imagine what it would feel like to have to spend a month in a rental car.  The seats don’t hug your body the way that your own car does; you pump your left foot trying to find the emergency brake only to remember that its handle is to the right of your seat now; you pull into a gas station and have to circle around after realizing that the gas needs to be pumped on the other side… And so on and so forth.  Your rental car certainly gets you from Point A to Point B alright, there’s no doubt about it, but you never quite feel at home.  You’ve figured out how to preset your favorite radio stations, but trying to get the clock to reflect daylight savings time is a lost cause.  So there you go for three more weeks parking further out in the parking lots, trying not to spill your coffee on the seats, hoping nobody scratches the sides, hopping into a car whose clock is running an hour behind and whose keys feel funny in your hands.  Sure, by the end of the month, you don’t necessarily notice as many of those uncomfortable details and your rental car is still sufficing in terms of transportation, but soon you’ll get your own car back and when you do…  Ooooooohhhhhhhh yeah!

It’s like home away from home, like shoes that have been broken in, like the humidity has left the air and you can breathe deeply again.

No more do you have to click and unclick buttons until you’ve figured out how to dim the internal lights, ’cause you just KNOW that button.  No more do you attempt to change gears down by the console, ’cause you just KNOW that stick is behind the wheel.  Suddenly, driving, in every way, becomes second nature again and now you can enjoy the view.

That’s what church felt like this Sunday.

Plus, it sounded glorious.  Such lovely music.

Never mind the fact that Bennett NEEDED Mommy and I had to leave and comfort him (and by comfort, I mean milk stuff) before the sermon even started.  Never mind that there are a few cosmetic issues here and there to finish up in terms of renovation.  That’s really no different than being at home, which is precisely what I’d hope for in a church.

Congratulations, Sterling Park Baptist Church!  Praise God for His kindness to us!