The kids said something to me this morning about going to church. I’d already been resolved and had reminded myself last night that we were going. We pulled into the parking lot at 9:02. The plan today was to meet Grandma and Dad at MCL after church for lunch. I braided my hair in the van before walking in, already internally feeling the shame that it really is me that causes us to be late. I don’t know if lateness is a moral deficiency worth feeling shame over. There are by far worse things I know. But it’s interesting, even when time itself has adjusted around us, just how much we are creatures of habit.

We celebrated All Saint’s Day today. I know this shouldn’t be anywhere above Easter or Christmas, but today it felt like my favorite Sunday in the church year. Every year it comes around I feel this way. And again, with all the hymns that exist praising God and telling his wonderful, beautiful story, on this day For All The Saints is once again my favorite hymn. Not only is it beautiful in lyric and song, there is no other hymn that makes me feel so seen and full of hope. It perfectly tells the story of us. Most every other Sunday it’s Jesus’s story told, as it is only perfect and right for that to be the case.

But on All Saint’s Day, it’s like Jesus says, “You know, you all are important too.” And of course we are. For as the church we are the bride of Christ. He loves us. Everything he went through down here was for us. Just as in this song, we get the small feeling that everything we went through down here was for him. Every time we persevered, every time we said no to sin and evil, every time we felt like there was no point, or hope, or much time left in living, the Lord was reminding us it wasn’t for nothing. It all had a purpose and it all still does. The living reigning others say it’s true. He has lifted us up.