December 10, 2025 I’ll admit it: I was distracted through most of Mass. It was the first Sunday of Advent, and I was attending a parish that wasn’t my own. Shortly after I was seated, the pew in front of me filled with what I think was three generations of the same family. There were four little ones, and if I had to guess, I’d say they were all under age 5. The oldest child, a young girl, was in mother-hen mode. She would frequently encourage the younger children to lower their volume. She sometimes did so at volumes that were louder than what the littles were creating. The second youngest was dropping every toy he touched. A rubbery green Hulk figure was dropped a handful of times. Twice, he dropped it behind the pew in which he was seated for me to pick up. The whole thing was hysterical. I don’t think I went five minutes without laughing at something. That probably just encouraged the little ones (my apologies to the parents). The kids’ parents and grandparents were awesome with these young ones. They addressed behaviors with the little ones when necessary, but they also let them be kids. It was clear, though, that they were very worried about the kids bothering others. They kept looking at the people seated around them, presumably gauging reactions. “It’s funny how all the activity from the littles feels stressful when we’re young enough that we have little children,” I said to the parents after Mass. “It’s not until we’re older – when our kids aren’t in pews being kids – that God gives us the patience and perspective to find it endearing and entertaining. I even miss these days of chasing a child in church.” There are times when I still hit the proverbial panic button and have a little (or big) cry over something going wrong. But it takes far worse situations to get me there now than it did even just a few years ago, and I move from panicking to surrendering and adapting much faster than I did in my younger years. While part of me wishes we could all have the patience in all seasons of our lives, I think I appreciate God giving me the peaceful perspective of experience more because of the years I spent turning little deals into big deals. And it turns being distracted through most of Mass into a really joyful time with our Lord and His people. |
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