It can be a little bit intimidating to show up at church. I look around and it seems like everyone else is perfect. But really, we’re all facing struggles and working through sin. We’re all messed up. We’re all human. We all need Jesus. And that’s why we come here. This is where I become more than I ever could on my own. This is where I find Jesus’s help, where I learn, grow, repent and evolve. This is where I hear God. I hear him when I close my eyes during the sacrament. I think about my week about the mistakes I’ve made and how I can be better with his help. I think reflecting like this helps open my heart to the messages he has for me. I hear him when I tried to be a little bit better each week and I was the week before it realigns my perspective and shifts my gaze back to Jesus. I hear him when we sing the hymn that says, Let me not forget Oh, Savior, thou didst bleed and die for me. When I meditate on those words, of worship, it makes me feel how grateful I am for what he did for me. I need to hear him because I desperately need His love, His mercy and His forgiveness. I don’t have it all figured out. I’m guilty of pride. I can be impatient and dishonest. Sometimes I’m hypocritical and pretend to be better than I am. And I struggle with feeling like I’m not enough. I’ve had to learn sometimes the hard way how to deal with these things. And yet, I hear him rooting for me, cheering me on and walking with me every step of the way. His wounds heal mine. I go to church because I need Jesus. We all need Jesus and all of us the sinner the addicts, the person who has struggles and doubts, baggage and sin. We all have a place. We have a place to become more than we ever could on our own. We have a place to find Jesus’s help to connect with others who are trying even though we’re imperfect. We have a place to hear God. The church is a hospital. So no matter how imperfect you feel, there is a place for you here. His wounds will heal us too. And you will hear him.
J Washburn
