Returning to Church

A few weeks ago I went to my first in person church service since covid began. If you follow my blog posts or know me, you know I can get anxious in a variety of situations, returning to church can now be added to the list.  I have kept in touch with some church members over this hiatus and started volunteering at our thrift store, but the thought of seeing everyone all at once was a bit scary.  It is crazy how the mind can work, even though I have missed my church family and wanted to return and see them, it was still an overwhelming thought.  Things have also changed at my church during covid with the installation of a new pastor.  Again, the thoughts ran wild, would I like the way he leads the sermon?  Would I enjoy the way he preaches? Are there other changes that have been made?  The first thing that helped calm my thoughts was a visit from the pastor. He stopped by the thrift store to meet me one Saturday.  It was not an ambush, one of my church moms told me he would stop by as he wanted to meet me.  It was a brief visit at the end of the shift, and it was enough to settle some fears.  I think it was another two weeks before I finally made it to church.  As I walked in I saw another of my church moms handing out the leaflets, a welcoming face!  We chatted a bit and then I found a spot.  Slowly, others in my church family quietly waved or said hello as they recognized me.  The service was as I remember and the pastor’s sermon was great, I really enjoyed his style of preaching.  After the service was a coffee hour outside, the church is still taking precautions due to the lingering issues with covid.  I was able to catch up with everyone and start to relax.  Pre-covid, I used to serve as usher, reader and an acolyte.  I do miss helping during the service and was approached about returning to these tasks.  I am not sure I am ready to jump back in the rotation on a regular basis yet, but I am looking forward to getting involved again.  The lesson learned is that many times things can be scary, but many of those times the benefits we receive are worth the battle of overcoming the fear.  Have you overcome a hurdle returning to life post covid?  I would love to hear about your victory in the comments.