The Urinal Story

Disclaimer: I realize I haven't blogged in a coon's age and I would love to break the drought with something spiritually edifying, but...I have to share what happened tonight. It was absolutely hilarious. Or at least I thought it was:)

It will go down as one of my funniest parenting moments. It took place tonight at Faith Harvest. I had packed five children (three of my own and two teens from church) in our van and went for a night of worship with friends. I was the lone parent as Jennifer had taken the girls to a women's ministry event. The night started off great. Emrie and Christian were worshipping with flags and were really into it. I was lovin' it as Jennie Mosier was leading worship and the presence of the Lord was filling the room. It was one of those moments you don't want to end. Now let me say that over the last couple of years I've had to learn to worship with minor childlike distractions. "Daddy, I'm thirsty", and, "Daddy, I have to go to the bathroom," is heard frequently. I've learned to deal with it and get back in the presence of the Lord. Well, tonight was a bit different. Like I said - the glory was thick and it was really getting good but as we headed into "Shout Unto God" and the intensity began to increase, I feel a tug on my shirt and my 3 1/2 year old son says, "Daddy, I have to poop." As you can imagine that made for a rapid descent down glory's mountain:) In an effort to grab a couple extra minutes in worship I instructed him to head to the bathroom and start his business and I would be there in a minute to help him finish up. I felt confident that he could do this as we had been to this particular church numerous times therefore he was well acquainted with the "facilities". I stayed as long as I could in worship and then slid out knowing I had a toddler in the bathroom, by himself. What I saw when I entered the men's bathroom was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. I saw my son, pants down, sitting on the urinal with his poop face on! He was of course stunned and a bit embarrassed when he saw his father explode with laughter and nearly fall to the bathroom floor. I'm happy to say, I caught him in time and transitioned him to the appropriate location before any damage was done, but the memory is forever locked in my mental vault of hilarious moments.