I'm not a "churchy" Christian

Before you get offended by the title and start praying for me, please hear me out.

I was raised in a Christian household where we went to church every sunday, that is if we were not traveling for soccer tournaments.  My family is a member of Huntingtown United Methodist Church which is the friendliest quaint little church you can find in Calvert County.  Every sunday morning our awesome praise band rocks the church fully equipped with a drummer, banjo player, electric guitarist, the whole works.  I attended Sunday School every sunday and Vacation Bible School every summer.  Over the years I learned compassion and humility for all living things and I am very grateful that my church has helped mold me into the young lady I am today.

Don't get me wrong, I love my church and all of it's members but I do not rely on church to fuel my faith.  Let me explain.

A lot of faithful Christians "feel" Christ the second they step foot into a church.  That is their shelter, their holy place, where they feel loved and connected.  I have never fully identified with that ideal.  Me and mom have always agreed that we don't need church to feel it.  I get that feeling when I am in the community doing God's work.  This might be donating a dollar to Make a Wish, or teaching children not only about math and science but about kindness and respect, or holding the door for a mom of three kids, or raising money for JDRF through my sorority's event.  When I am making a difference in my community, no matter how small of a deed, THAT is when I feel the most connected to my faith.  I don't need the boundary of four concrete walls to allow me to "feel it".

It hurts me when I go to church and are lost in a sea of new faces and are greeted by old faces wondering where I've been.  I don't mean to disappear from my church family at times but I know they respect my wishes to explore my faith in other adventures.  Just because I don't go to church every sunday doesn't mean I'm not a good Christian.  Right?

Next time you feel absent, either physically or mentally, take a second to think of when the last time you did God's work.  Just the smallest act of kindness can improve the world around you.