Awkward Moments

Saturday night was babysitting night. Babysitting for the Legs.
I’ve been to this family repeatedly over the last 18 months and the kids and I are great friends. It’s tough to get to know the parents when you’re only seeing them for 15 minutes at either end of the evening.
These guys are lovely, and the mother and I have conversed occasionally. I thinks she’s pretty shy so she always feels just a little bit distant when we speak.
I think nothing of it. I mean, there are some families I’ve totally bonded with and others I see occasionally and appreciate the brevity of our relationship but because of how often I go to the Leg’s, and the fact that they ask for me by name, they fall somewhere in between.
Tonight I had been studying and watching photoshoptv whilst the kids [little angels] slept, and when Mr and Mrs Leg came home the conversation, while I was packing up my books, turned to the uni course, which is of course Arts and Theology… and consequently branched off towards church and the question of exactly which church it is that I go to.
That’s an easy enough question to answer. A bit of a simple geography. The answer to which is basically the one with the orange roof on the corner of… etc.
The tricky question that followed of course is how is that different from Anglican or Catholic churches (the universal points of religious reference)? I explain that it’s an conservative, orthodox Christian church, that has an expression of worship that’s modern and relevant and lively.
But that isn’t enough…
And I take a deep breath and enter ‘sounds like a cult’* territory mentioning p˜ word and the Holy Ghost/Spirit part of the trinity and the whole prohesy and speaking in tongues stuff… She nods and smiles and I make a hash of trying to sound like a normal person and close [hopefully] with a sort of “it works for me and enriches my life” etc. etc. etc. (refraining from mentioning the whole heaven and hell bizzo). And she holds out her arms and says’
“That’s great, I can give you a hug for that.”
I hug her… doing my best to hide the wide eyes and raised eyebrows carefully entering hitherto unexplored territory in our relationship… [shakes head] Hugging Mrs Leg…
I’m still somewhat bemused…
That one moment turned on the lights in my already foggy brain and I realise she’s on the verge of off her face (clearly has better luck with margaritas than me)… which means she likely won’t remember it… and likely won’t realise whaat a clueless Christian I was…
The Bible says be ready with an answer in and out of season… well, I guess this proves it was the off season for me tonight…
*I mean by this that it ‘sounds like a cult’ to the untutored ear. [Though actually when you get to the speaking in tongues stuff etc many Christians start imagining cult territory too… For the record, I’m not in a cult… My mind is far less controlled by the church than I think even they, would prefer…
˜ = pentecostal