Have you ever felt like ditching church?

Psalm 84:2 (ESV) My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.

Maybe you’ve been ditching church for years. Or maybe you manage to get your rear in gear about every six weeks and make it to a service.

Last Sunday, my husband was working, so I seriously considered staying home in my pajamas, Bible in hand, convincing myself I’d do a super-spiritual deep dive into God’s Word… you know, just me, my couch, and Jesus.

But I pulled myself together and went.

And it was the best decision. I sat with friends. I worshiped. I gleaned from one of our pastors' teachings. God’s presence was there.

My heart and my voice sang with joy to the living God! I was refreshed by Him.

My soul and heart were hungry for this. I really needed to worship in church—and I needed to do it in community, not alone on my couch in my pj’s, pausing the sermon to switch the laundry.

After my first marriage blew up, I stayed away from church for a couple of years. I didn’t want to sit alone, and I definitely did not want to risk running into someone who knew the “old” me.

But God was patient with me. Moving to Texas gave me the gift of being incognito for a while.

Fast forward: my husband and I now attend two wonderful churches—one in Houston and the other in Wimberley, when we’re able to stay there.

I’m so thankful for the community, teaching, and worship we’ve found. My soul really does long for the courts of the Lord—turns out, it doesn’t just want coffee and a quiet Sunday morning. It wants the living God, and the beautiful, imperfect people who gather to worship Him.