Tagged for First Communion

The Zoo attends church.  The youngest Heathen was deemed (by the Asst. Zookeeper and myself) as old enough to participate in Communion for the first time.  He attended his Sacraments class at the church and learned the three parts of a Sacrament (an earthly element, God's command to participate, and a covenant of God's forgiveness).  He met with the pastor and learned the process of participation.  We read the scriptures that we were to read and discussed them.  He was prepped and ready.

I, on the other hand, was struggling to get ready.  Once I gave finals at the local community college, I had one week to prepare the house for family and church friends to descend upon us.  I will readily admit that my Zoo tends to fall apart in the month leading up to finals - the laundry, the vacuuming, the dishes - it all falls to the wayside to make way for grading and testing and assessments that must be accomplished by a set deadline.  The end of April leaves the Zoo looking like a tornado went through it and left no survivors.  And that is a KIND assessment.

So I spent the week leading up to his first Communion scrubbing, dusting, vacuuming, putting away, washing, etc.  I spent time picking up all the dead-fall sticks in the yard, mowing, and prepping the yard to be invading by all the cousins that were coming to play for the afternoon.  And 1.5 acres is a lot of yard to prep for an "invasion."

As I am cheap, I spent an entire day preparing food.  Cooking, boiling, prepping a meal for 50+ people that could be prepared ahead of time, but could be ready that day with little effort the morning of the event.

And I will admit to spending a lot of time stressing about making the event "perfect" for the littlest Heathen.  This was his first big event.  He had watched the older Heathens have important events for years.  After watching patiently for years, it was finally his turn.  I wanted it to be everything that he wanted it to be.  I understand the pain of watching the older boys and having to always wait for it to be your turn for the "big day."

Despite a less than desirable weather forecast of thunderstorms, I spent the week praying for an afternoon of beautiful weather.  While we were prepared for the rain, it would be so much easier if that many people were not packed into my house.  I have no idea how many times that week that I muttered the prayer, "Please, God.  I'm asking for a few hours of sunshine.  Amen."

We made it to church that morning with time to spare.  We were thrilled to see the amount of family and friends that had joined us on this occasion.  I'm a strong believer in celebrating with other people.  Not only does it feel good on my end of the participation, but it makes those celebrating feel loved and cared for.  We added several pews of family and friends to the regular congregation.  Heathen #3 was thrilled that people came - there is always a fear in his head that by the time it is his turn to do something, people will be bored and no longer come.  He grinned with pride due to the showing of those family and friends.  I couldn't have been more happy for the show of support.

Heathen #3 waited impatiently throughout the service to reach Communion.  When we were called to come forward, he moved confidently to the front.  He knew what he needed to do without hesitation.  When he was handed the bread and said, "Amen," we crossed another milestone line in the family. While we had always participated in Communion as a family, with the younger children receiving a blessing, for the first time, all the Heathens were old enough to join the Table.  I struggled to hold back my tears.  The Zoo sat at the Lord's Table for the first time as a complete unit.  The Asst. Zookeeper and I had managed to fulfill another baptismal vow.  The vows we made when the Heathens were baptized strike me very deeply.  We've been careful to fulfill them - otherwise, there was no point in having them baptized.

Without a hitch, Heathen #3 participated in his first Communion.  He did it without hesitation - he has been to the rail his entire life and watched those older than him.  He even managed the event without spilling grape juice on himself, which is what he was originally worried about.

We had a beautiful afternoon of weather for the luncheon we held at the Zoo.  Our family and church friends spent several hours congregating in the yard and watching the children all play outside.  God had granted my request for cooperative weather.  I was thrilled and made sure to thank Him.

The day was a complete success.  Heathen #3 declared it the best day ever.  And that made all the hard work and hours of preparation worth it.

Fast forward from Sunday to today (Thursday).  I was sorting laundry in the basement.  In Heathen #3's laundry was the blue dress shirt he had worn to church.  He had neglected to unroll the sleeves before placing the shirt in the wash.  Smiling as I thought of that day, I unrolled the sleeves of his shirt.

And discovered that the large cardboard price-tag was still hanging from its plastic tab to the left armpit of the shirt.  He had worn the shirt for several hours that day - and never taken the price tag off the shirt.

I stopped in stupefied thought:  Had I noticed the tag on his shirt that day? (Obviously, the answer to that question was NO.)  Had the tag been visible to others at any point as he was wearing a full, button-up vest over-top of the shirt? (Maybe.  Maybe not.)  Had anyone in the congregation noticed the tag hanging from his armpit? (No way of knowing the answer to this one.)

Finally, I simply removed the tag and threw it away.  And decided there was no point in asking anyone if they had noticed.  The tag was not the important part of the day.

But I will start searching the Heathens for tags on new clothing prior to an event.  Lesson learned.