Confessions of St. Jen the Martyr

I have sinned. It's been um, quite some time since my last confession. I think it's been since my days as a missionary-in-training, but I'll go into that later.

This past Sunday, I did not attend church. I know this may not be considered a sin in some circles, but in Mormon circles, it would be considered a sin of omission rather than commission. However, this past Sunday, my lack of church attendance was neither.

You see, church was snowed out on Sunday. I believe my sin lies in the happiness I felt when I got the call, oh and in the prayers I said prior to the call (Please let them cancel church! I really don't want to drive in this, but more so, I don't want to teach music to the children today and I have a lot of other things to do.) I had planned to take the kids to visit cousins later today and was torn between concern about driving in the snow and having extra time to pack while the snow melts away (hopefully). All in all, despite my sinful desires, church was canceled, the boys played in the snow while it melted away and I packed. Forgive me.

Perfect, the snow had melted and we were set to hit the road 3 hours earlier than planned. And we did. But, I was sooooo tired from staying up tooooo late. I began struggling to stay awake while driving. Elliot was asleep, Ethan was not. I pulled off at a gas station, on the Sabbath, bribed my elder son to stay in the vehicle with his sleeping brother while I ran in and purchased a Coke.

Now, technically Coca-Cola is not a direct violation of my religious law of health. I would say that it does not however fall under the general counsel of consuming things that are good for the body, but more likely falls under the group of addictive drugs I am counseled not to consume. Forgive me.

However, child neglect (as in leaving a 5-year-old watching a 2-year-old alone in a vehicle) is probably a sin, or at least a bad idea. We were at a gas station where I could see out the window and I did leave it locked, so that helps a little. Forgive me.

And then there's the whole sabbath day purchase to be considered. I really do my best to keep the sabbath day holy, which, in my book, generally includes avoiding doing business on Sunday. Forgive me.

And then, as a direct result of bribing my child with soda pop (purchased on the Sabbath), just 15 minutes before our arrival, he had an imminent need of a restroom. So I pulled off at the nearest establishment that wasn't a scary gas station; a sandwich shop. Of course we were the only people in the restaurant as we hurried back to the bathroom and as restrooms are for customers only I felt compelled to buy my children some chips. Forgive me.

All in all it was a decent Sunday, if a bit rough around the edges. I'll go into the missionary confessions in another post. I promise.