Carrie Wigal

I was raised in a Christian home and spent most of my early childhood attending a Baptist church in Oakland, NJ. We moved several times while I was a child and settled in Rockaway, NJ for the rest of my childhood. After trying out a few churches there, my parents decided to join an Assembly of God church, and that’s where I went up until I graduated high school.

I have very fond memories as a young child going to church…it was like a second home to me. Being a mom now, I want my children to have the same kind of experiences I had. Things like singing songs, hearing Bible stories, eating snacks, doing crafts, and making friends. I personally enjoyed singing in the kids’ choir, listening to the Pastor give Bible lessons specifically to the kids during a Sunday morning service, and going to Vacation Bible School…and bringing my Bible and putting change in the offering plate each week.

Unfortunately as I got older, I became jaded towards what was happening in “the church”. Although I enjoyed my four years at a Christian liberal arts university, after graduating I was disillusioned with church when I returned home. As much as I believed it was “right” for me to go, I found myself feeling worse after attending a service than when I arrived. And not because I was guilt-ridden for some sin in my life, but rather the church I attended prior to college wasn’t the same. Or more likely, I wasn’t the same. I wanted more.

Although I continued in my Christian walk, I only went to church on occasion, trying to find one that suited me well. In my late 20′s I moved out of state and spent nearly a year trying to find a church that felt right to me. When I did, I stayed there for the next 3 years until I moved out of state again. And I found myself in the same predicament once again, trying to find a church that “fit”.

And then three years ago, I moved once again and had to start the whole process all over. This time I was married and had small children in tow, and I really wanted to find someplace to “settle”. While we attended a church fairly regularly for about a year or so (an Assembly of God church), mostly because that’s where my sister went with her kids, we couldn’t see ourselves continuing there…mostly because of the time it took to get there (45 minutes). Plus, there were a few prominent issues my husband and I had with that church. We wanted more.

So, on a whim, we decided to attend a small, local Baptist church where my aunt & uncle went for the past 15+ years. In fact I had been to this church on several occasions in my early adulthood and teenage years when I would come to visit my grandparents, but we had yet to attend a Sunday morning service since we moved here in 2004.

Wow, what a blessing it was to enter those doors.

My uncle was helping care for the kids in the nursery that day, so leaving our youngest was a breeze. Of course our second youngest, being the extrovert she was, never looked back when we dropped her off in the toddlers’/preschool room. Our oldest recognized his gym teacher there, and although he didn’t particularly enjoy having to sit through the service (since he was too old for the “children’s church”), it was nice to see quite a few older kids there as well.

We’ve been attending there for over a month now, and I’m so grateful we “found” this church. Although it’s fairly small, I appreciate what it has to offer not only my husband and I, but our kids as well. I expect this is where we’ll raise our family, and I’m looking very forward to it.

Just recently I started singing “church” songs with my children as we get ready for bed, and it’s so, so sweet. We hold hands and pray at mealtimes, and I hope to start reading/telling them Bible stories as well. I’m excited about imparting the love I have for the LORD on my children.

Tomorrow is the first day of Vacation Bible School…I can’t wait to share this new experience with them. It’s so nice to finally be at “home” again in church.