Early

My Granny Whitely lived next door to us.  She went to the same church that we did and often rode to church with us.  But Granny Whitely liked to be at church early.  She would come over to our house and sit on the couch waiting for the rest of us to get ready.  I could tell that my dad was irritated even though Granny said nothing.  As our family grew, Granny thought that riding with us was an inconvenience to us, so she began to drive her own car to church.  Which was fine with me and my brother, because we would rather ride to and from church with Granny than with our parents.  Granny had a 1949 Ford that was two-toned.  It didn’t come from the factory that way; it had been in an accident with the former owner, and he had the car repaired and almost repainted.  It was two-toned gray primer and brown primer.  I suppose the previous owner ran out of one color or the other.  But it drove fine.  Granny liked to get to church early to help fold the church bulletins.  My brother and I liked to get to church early to run around in the parking lot.  But as soon as the final “Amen” was said, Granny was out of the church door.  She only took time to shake the pastor’s hand - that is if he was fast enough.  Again, my brother and I liked to get home early so that we could get out of church our clothes.  Church clothes were too stiff and scratchy.  In the back seat of Granny’s Ford, my brother and I would get a head start on “getting out of our church clothes”.  We would unbutton our shirts - except for one strategic button.  We would take off our socks, stuff them in our pockets, and then put our shoes back on - untied.  We would take off our belts and unzip our pants with only the waist button holding the pants in place.  The moment we got to the house we were running to get changed.  Hey, what is so loathsome to a child about dress clothes?  And what is so comforting about play clothes?  I think the negative part of dress clothes is the “dress” part and the comfort in play clothes is the “play” part of the clothes.  As an adult, we long for our youth.  Solomon said to enjoy your youth while you can.  Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 11:9, “Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.”  Our adulthood brings mature responsibilities and adult behavior - both good and bad.  Never forget, everything is naked and open before the God above.  Trust Him, obey Him, and live for Him.  You’ll be glad that you did.