Hi, all! Just a thought.

Before this summer’s trip to New England, we made a very tentative list of some things we thought might be interesting to see or do along the way. Some of those places were simply of some interest to us, some just because we’d be close, and some were historical places we might not see again. One of those such places I wanted to see was Plymouth Harbor and the Plymouth Rock.

Now, if you pep yourself up, expecting to see something extraordinary, grand, unbelievable, and huge, then you might be disappointed. I knew Plymouth Rock was just a rock that marked the spot where the pilgrims landed so many years ago on the Mayflower. And just a rock it is.

Granted, that rock has been surrounded by a large ornate structure of columns and a roof. Iron fencing surrounds the rock itself. As Momma would say, “You may look, but you can’t touch.”

It’s just a rock. But that rock represents so much more. It represents a new world. It stands for freedom OF religion, not FROM it. It stands for struggles and hardships — both those left behind and those to come. That rock represents life itself where so many people had wondered if they would ever really have one.

You and I have friends who question why we bother to attend church. They say it’s just a building. It’s just a place filled with messed up people. It’s just someplace else to have to go when their week is already so full of other things. I’m here to tell you that it’s so much more than that.

The church is a place where hurting people have traveled in order to get away from the terrible world, if but for a little while. The church is a structure meant not to keep us away, but to have a safe place to gather. The church is a place where we have the freedom to worship as we please. It’s where we bring our hardships and our struggles, leave them at the altar, and re-boost our courage and strength to wear the armor of God and face the struggles and hardships of the week ahead. It’s a place we all need to go.

You can avoid the church if that’s what you really want. Or, you can go, but with the attitude that you’ll be disappointed. And that may be exactly what will happen. The church, as so many have said, is not meant to be a museum for the saints, but a hospital for the sinners. We are all broken, just like that big famous Plymouth Rock, with the glue and repairs of the Master to hold us back together. And like that rock at Plymouth Harbor, we children of God have been marked by His hand and surrounded by His loving care.

As you plan the activities and journeys of your week ahead, I pray your road takes you to the church house — the one built upon the Rock. You’ll be glad you experienced it for yourself.

Just a thought.

’Til later.

Brad Campbell can be reached at mastah.pastah@yahoo.com.