In the beginning...

...you walk into a church.

And that in itself is a terrifying sentence. You walk into a church for the first time and you don't know if anyone is going to care you are there. You may just be a body to fill a seat or you may be an inconvenience. But if you are lucky, you feel that spark, that connection with a special church and you settle down to make a family.

I am not the first to compare church shopping to dating and I will not be the last. You dress up in your best, you feel awkward and nervous and you notice the little things like, why does he sweat so much? That guy chews funny. This lady smells funny.

The worst for me is getting into a church and not knowing what to do next. Do I snack on the goodies in the back? Do I sit down right away? Will I be sitting in someone else's seat and have to move? Will anyone at all say "hi" to me?

I feel funny going back the second time as well. In fact, when I was looking for churches a couple of months ago, I would not be able to sleep the night before. Which did make it hard to get up in the morning and be my best.

But after about a month about my new church, that feeling finally went away. I finally recognize the people I greet in the morning. I feel like a part of it when people know me. And all in all, for all the stress, when you find the right place you hardly remember that feeling you had when you walked in the door.