Babies and Church = Oil and Water?

We don't have Sunday nursery available at my church. Mind you, I lobbied for one, but to no avail. Depending on the day and the behavior of my children, my opinion on the matter varies. Some days I understand the idea of family integrated church and think it's a good one. Today, I don't have the best attitude about it. I don't get why it's more valuable to have kids in service. It's not like my kids are sitting quietly, listening to the testimonies and the sermon, and praying. They're playing with their toys, reading books, eating snacks, and sometimes whining/crying. Before I would keep the kids in service until they got out of hand, and then I would take them down to the nursery. There's a speaker down there, so I might get to hear snippets of the sermon.

Anyway, since I know that they will not appease the parents of small children with a scheduled nursery service, I don't take my kids down there. I keep them in the pew with me, and I try to keep them entertained and quiet as much as possible. Today they made a lot of noise. Of course I did my best to get them to be quiet, but I've decided that I'm not going to take them out of service if they cry. If they want kids in the service so badly, then they get noisy, crying ones too. ;0)

I go back and forth about the value of having little kids in service. How much are they gaining spiritually by being there, and how much am I losing spiritually by dealing with them instead of focusing on the Lord? Personally, I don't think it's a net gain. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to be able keep my eyes closed during the worship songs, read from my bible and take notes during the sermon, and respond to an altar call. But I can't do any of that, because I always have to be partially focused on my kids. At the same time, I understand that it's a good opportunity for them to learn to be quiet and behave. I also think that the earlier kids are exposed to the Gospel the better. Plus, I'm sure it's supposed to be an opportunity for me to put the fruits of the Spirit into practice.

This too shall pass, right?

Well, at least next Sunday will be a great service! Grandma Jones is in town, so I get to go to church by myself! And there's fellowship lunch afterwards that I will actually get to enjoy, and probably share some adult conversation! So, I'm excited about that. ;0)