Old Time Religion

With the thoughts of pumpkin pie, turkey, and family and friends fresh in my mind I stopped a second to realize that on the night of Thanksgiving Eve, I found myself...in church...I had come home for a visit, nothing makes my parents more cheerful then seeing their son come home, yes when their son comes home with grandchildren it'll be better, but for now they'll have to deal...While I was home, in this lustrious town of just over 1200 people a unique event took place in week."A Community of Faith Giving Thanks", it read on my paper from church the Sunday prior. Well, without heed I walked into the church building on Thanksgiving Eve, and this is what I saw...It was a small church, one of the newer ones in the area. Called the "Cornerstone Church of God", while walking in I was greeted by the pastor the church, followed by the pastor of the Baptist church, followed by the pastor the Christian church. A unique setup before me, the groups of individuals scattered among the sanctuary, they were all of different assorts, some Baptist, some Christian, some from the Cornerstone Church of God, all of them...children of God.As the event began it took it's usual path. One pastor said one thing, followed by a prayer of another, and so on and such forth. Then came the most enjoyable time, a time of thanks. This time was for the bold in the building that night. This was for the ones who decided to give to the group what God has sent them along the way in the past year. And as it began with people deemed "older" by our society, it ended with those deemed "reckless" or "young". "I'm thankful for the harvest", said one."I'm glad my mother has beat breast cancer", replied another."I praise God for the times of bad, for through that we learn to rely on God", stated one of the areas youth.Another youth, who had captured the heart of the community said slowly, but surely, "I...thank God...and am thankful....that I......can use my legs." And one by one the people arose to the occassion, thanking God about the community, the people, the harvest, the crops, the vehicles, the local football teams run into the playoffs.Soon after one of the local pastors got up to give a "mini-sermon", saying to be careful what you pray for, you give thanks, and you pray for change be ready, and off in the group a woman would say, "yes, yes..." quietly, and a man in the back would sternly say, "amen!", as to agree with the pastor at the pulpit. The crowd was moving their heads with approval, as if it was a fuel for the man up front. The little children grew tired, for their bedtime had come on gone and their parents would hold them tenderly, knowing, that they were quick asleep.Another pastor came up to sing, bringing his little daughter with him and as he hit the low notes she would hit the high, "Not because of who I am, not because of what I've done, but because of who you are, because of what you've done", they could be heard singing in unison, capture the audiences attention and emotions.Eventually through this hour of worship, things would wind down to a close. The people were dismissed, saying, "Happy Thanksgiving" and shaking hands to everyone that they encountered along the way to the back, through which they would shake the hands of all three pastors, and walk out the door feeling ignited, and excited, and anxious for the days to come...As I sit in my classroom, being attacked daily by the rapid pace of society and moving about of the world I remind myself, whenever I need out, whenever I need to a restart...just give me some of that old time religion...