Love of a church family

I got back home around noon today. I have had the most amazing time. We have laughed till our ribs hurt. I enjoyed spending some time with my friends and meeting their church family. The youth group went bowling Sunday after church and they have a wonderful bunch of kids. It is obvious that those kids love Neva and missed her terribly. They just fit there!!! I now understand just how much they left when they moved to Texas. I am so very grateful that we had them as long as we did, but this is where they need to be. They are both very happy, and so is Little Dog. The love and acceptance of that congregation can be felt when you walk in the door. You don't get that everywhere, not even in Texas. I know that I do not have years and years of experience in what a church family is supposed to be, but I do have a lot of experience in what it is not. I personally have walked into a church with my small children and been looked up and down by snooty people that think they are better than others, and if that was not what they meant by their non smiling, unfriendly faces well it is what was felt. Now is that the way christian families should treat each other. It sure doesn't make a person want to return. I didn't for years. I am sure I am not the only one out there. If everyone would just treat each other the way they want to be treated the world would be a much better place to be. Didn't we all learn that in Kindergarten. Play nice, share, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything......... Sometimes just a smile says so much. I can't change the world, but I can sure be one smiling face that someone sees when they come to church for the first time, or the 10,000th time.........................