Brothers and Sisters

One unique tradition had in my church is that the members all call each other "Brother" and "Sister". I have always thought it was a nice tradition. I do believe that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, and that we are all part of the same Heavenly Family, with God as our father. It's all a very pleasant idea, and serves to promote unity, love and friendship among church members. I've always believed it to be true. However, this past Sunday I gained a new appreciation for what it means to truly be a church family. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Justin spent the weekend in Texas, leaving me to take my three young boys and infant girl to church alone on Sunday. What I haven't mentioned until now, is that one of my church assignments is to play the organ during sacrament meeting. Needless to say, I was a bit nervous about trusting my children to sit reverently in the congregation while their mother sat on the stand and their father was away. I gave the boys a thorough run-down of what was expected of them while at church. I would have them sit on the very front row where I would be watching them from the organ bench. They were to sit facing forward throughout the meeting. They were allowed to bring one small quiet toy and a bag of books and activities to keep them occupied while I played the hymns. Once I was sure they understood and were all in agreement, we were on our way. Miraculously, we managed to get to church a few minutes early. We made our way up the aisle to the front row, where Brother and Sister Lonergan were kind enough to give up their usual "spot" so that my children could sit where they could see me watching over them. No sooner had we sat down than Brother and Sister Cottle offered to sit with my kids throughout the meeting. Confident as I was that my children would behave perfectly without their supervision, I accepted. I took my seat on the organ bench, and began playing prelude music. No sooner had I started playing than I saw Austin throw his soft "quiet toy" sky-high in the air. I stopped playing immediately and marched down to reprimand his behavior. Convinced that he had learned his lesson, I made my way back to the organ and began playing again. Soon, it was time for the meeting to start and I made ready to play the opening hymn. With the congregation waiting patiently for the music to start, Brandon stood up and yelled, "Mom! I need to go pee!!!". I then proceeded to have a conversation with my 4-year-old in front of the whole church, explaining why he would either have to wait until after the song, or go to the potty by himself. Luckily, Sister Koeppen was quick to jump up and help out with the situation, escorting Brandon out of the chapel. I was so embarrassed and distracted that I fumbled through the entire opening hymn. With each mistake, I grew more embarrassed, causing me to make even more mistakes. The whole song sounded horrible. How humiliating. Once the song was finally over, an opening prayer was said, a few announcements made, and then it was time for the sacrament hymn. I began playing and all was going well until I heard a familiar baby cry. It was Eden. Brother Cottle took her out of her car seat and tried to calm her, but the wailing only grew louder. He took her out of the chapel, and I picked up the tempo to get the song over with quicker. Once finished, I exited the chapel to relieve Brother Cottle. As I took Eden in my arms, I noticed Brother Koeppen standing outside the bathroom door, waiting for whoever was occupying the single stall to come out. After a while, he peeked in to check on the progress of the child inside. A familiar voice came from within, and I realized that it was Austin! I felt embarrassed that it seemed that the whole congregation was busy taking care of the needs of my children, and I was overwhelmingly grateful to have so many "brothers" and "sisters" who were so eager to help. I have learned from this experience that I definitely cannot manage my children by myself at church. However, I am lucky enough to know that I never have to.