St. John's & the Four Seasons Diner

This morning Artur and I attended mass at the local Catholic church. We don’t expect to be available to attend regularly – as we will be working weekends – but it would be nice to go occasionally. Artur is Catholic, I was raised Lutheran. I would prefer to visit a Lutheran church, but don’t mind worshipping at mass. The deciding factor for us is usually distance.

Traditionally, it takes me a few visits to get used to any new church, but the Catholic ones even more so. I’m not fond of the “singing” that the priests do in certain parts, and never can catch when the congregation is supposed to make the sign of the cross or kneel. Today’s service was no different. But then the sermon began.

The priest was personable and authoritative. I instantly connected to his words – and the message itself seemed to be directed towards me. Or, at least, I found it completely relevant to the journey Artur and I are on. His message was - Seeing the “Christ” in everyone and Belonging.

Seeing the “Christ” in everyone – or seeing the good in everyone. This truly has been one of my personal goals in relation to beginning our new life. I want to rid my life (as much as possible) of the negativity and stress caused by negativity. Using church as an example, it would be fairly normal for me to look down upon the people who waltz in late, after the service has begun. In my mind I am thinking, “This person is disrespectful towards the priest and rudely disrupting my worship.” I need to retrain my mind to instead think, “I’m glad this person was able to attend this service and worship with me.” And I will be making this effort in all aspects of my life.

Belonging. Every time we move, Artur and I will need to make a renewed effort to meet people and find a sense of belonging. Not “belonging” in a sense of “fitting in”, but rather belonging in the sense of making friends and figuring out the best the area has to offer. Belonging to the area – getting the most out of our time in that particular area. And I am excited about that prospect!

As a side note, after church we visited our first local restaurant – the Four Seasons Diner. The exterior aluminum exuded the charm of a 50’s diner, but the interior fell flat. The menu was huge – everything you can think of! Artur ordered the Caprese Burger, and I the Spanish omelet. Neither was outstanding, but at least we chose local over chain. We won’t be in a rush to go back (we’ll check out some of the other local eateries), unless we check back in for 50 cent Coors Light on Sundays!