Only Jesus

I went to church for the first time yesterday. I feel like this weekend was the first time I entered into the "normal"world. I was glad to see folks. Glad to be among my own tribe. Glad that I could sing old hymns as familiar to me as the smell of bacon in the morning. Glad I could understand the lesson because its in my mother tongue- Texan.  But then, I also felt like an observer. I felt like an outsider even though in reality, I am not. I found that I didn't have as much capacity for small talk. When I asked "how are you" and the person responded with the automatic "I am fine"....I knew they really weren't. I could tell by that pained look in their eye.  I recognized that look.  I had seen it before. Cancer. A troubled child. Financial ruin.

 We can have full bellies. We can have all the gadgets in the world.  But that doesn't make us happy. Thats not the source of real joy. Only Jesus. Whether I am walking through the slums. Whether I am walking through the city. Whether I am walking through the doors of my own church. Only Jesus.