2010.02.28 Surprises at Church

I am not naming names in this blog as most of those who read it will know anyway but this morning, we picked up a lady to take her to church and I walked in with her early while Don parked the car. A husband and wife were in the sanctuary with their baby wondering if they were meant to sit in the chairs where the acolytes sit. I said good morning and asked if their baby was being baptized. They said yes and I said, I think you are supposed to sit on the first row rather than in the chairs. They moved and the lady said she was really worried the child would cry during the baptism. I said just look upon it as a joyful noise if so and she said "Well maybe he will have his own conversation with God about all this." I looked in the bulletin to learn their names since we don't usually have baptisms at the early service. Anyway, to my great surprise, a beloved coach (with the same last name as this couple) who means a lot to Don and me came in. At first, I did a double take, thinking that it was someone who looked like this person but then I realized, No, this is the guy all right and this is his grandson who is being baptized. We almost always sit on the 3rd row at church (there is leg room here for Don's long legs) and this coach sat right in front of me. I leaned forward after a bit and congratulated him on his grandchild. He said it was about time he had one and then I commented on being a great fan and told him those sitting around us are fans also. He said he appreciated that and hoped to keep us as fans. I let him know we are not fair weather fans but tried and true ones.

Don came in and did not notice this guy. I went down to talk with a friend I spotted down the row. Don says, he said out loud, "Oh, we have a baptism today. How neat!" To which, this coach turned around and INTRODUCED himself! Don about flipped out, it was such a surprise.

I am sorry to couch this in vagueness as I would love to tell the story, name included, but I don't want to risk having my story googled by some stranger.

Suffice it to say, this "event" made our day today and the poor lady who went to church with us just sat in fascinated silence throughout the whole drama.

Then Lou taught us about songs in our hymnal - a great idea for a Sunday School class and it turned out to be very interactive and fun. (We sang some of the songs.) All in all a great morning for us.