Nothing complicated about it....

It has been about six months since we have consistently gone to church. It just got too hard. We went to a wonderful church with wonderful people but it ended up just not being right for us. The church even had a special needs program. I don’t know what it was that caused Micah anxiety but he fought us kicking and screaming every Sunday. When we were able to get in the doors of the church he would refuse to go into the children’s program and then fall asleep during the church service. After several Sundays of begging, pleading, screaming, sweating….just to get the kids dressed and in the car –  you know the deal - “WE ARE GOING TO CHURCH AND PRETEND WE ARE A NORMAL FAMILY AND YOU ARE GOING TO LIKE IT”. It was exhausting. So…we gave up.


The longer we didn’t go, the easier it was to just not go. A friend of mine is on staff at a church in Pennsylvania and they have an online sermon. So, we hooked the Nook up to the tv and started watching every Sunday. (www.lcbcchurch.com/media - check it out!) I got so much out of the sermons but there was something missing. I missed connection and worship with other believers. I knew we had to get back into church…but where? The one thing I really love about LCBC (Lives Changed By Christ) is their premise of “Love God, Love People”. How uncomplicated. “God, I want a church like that for my family.”

We started visiting different churches. I felt like Goldilocks. This one was too traditional. The next - too big. Too snobby. Too many rules - spoke and unspoken.  As I was stalking Facebook one day I noticed that a friend was “checked in” at Simple Church. What in the world was Simple Church? Out of all the millions of churches in Rome I had never heard of Simple Church. It was a fairly new church and come to find out – very close to our house. We decided to check it out.

That was a little over a month ago. Simple Church felt like home from the moment we walked through the door. There were no complaints (or sleeping) from Micah – which is a very high compliment. The whole family has been eager to go to church each Sunday – no begging or screaming. When I think about it, I am amazed at what God has done with our family over the last month.

The second week at Simple Church Noah was baptized. He had been baptized as a baby but wanted to be baptized again since he had made a decision to give his life to the Lord. The third week (Mother’s Day), Micah gave his life to Jesus. This was the best Mother’s Day present I could have ever received! The assurance that both of my children would be with me in heaven!

In all honesty, I worried that Micah would never be able to understand the abstract concept of faith. A relationship with someone who he could not see…talking with someone who he could not (audibly) hear talking back to him. It’s hard enough for him to connect with people. In his aggressive meltdowns, he would often curse God and voice his allegiance to the devil. He would sob – questioning why God would make him suffer with eczema and autism. Some of the awful things he would say was said to hurt us. But I think he was really wrestling with God. We would pray with him and he would be distant, non-believing that God truly loved him and wanted a relationship with him. We would tell him that he could push God away and say whatever he wanted in his anger but God would never stop pursuing him.

Mother’s Day Sunday Micah took the communication card out of my hand during the singing. He checked the box “Today I gave my life to the Lord” and he showed me. I told him to put his name down next to it. Then Richard took him over to talk and pray with the pastor. Micah wanted Richard to do the talking for him. Richard told him, “Buddy, this is all you. If you want this you have to be the one to tell him.” Micah said three words that changed his life – “I want Jesus”. It was that simple.

Micah’s struggles have not disappeared but he is more at peace…happier than I have ever seen him. The Holy Spirit can comfort him in a way that Richard and I aren’t able. I am not sure what turned things around for Micah but I sure am thankful for answered prayer. Maybe Micah realized that a relationship with Jesus doesn’t have to be complicated. He asks us to follow him, to love God, and to love people. Not complicated….Simple.