Sunday morning church service is a time filled with communion and connecting with God and with our fellow man. It’s a time to rest from the week, but sometimes we feel like we’re too busy to rest.

It’s common knowledge that on days like Easter and Christmas, church attendance booms. But on the other side of the coin are days when the crowd thins considerably.

On Super Bowl Sunday, the evening service is sparse or sometimes even canceled. The morning when the elders give the “State of the Congregation” lesson, attention is lax. But I believe the one day a year it’s most difficult for ACU students to get up in the morning is the day after Sing Song.

Preachers this morning will look out from the pulpit and see one of two things: The section where the college group normally sits completely empty, or a sleeping college student next to their visiting parents, who rousted their child out of bed to attend service.

Last night’s show started at 8:00, and after two-and-a-half hours of acts there were awards, cleanup and celebration.

I’m sure the members of Gamma Sigma Phi stayed up all night celebrating their victory, while the fun did not stop for Ko Jo Kai. And sophomores must have been on cloud nine. They probably went to bed after this paper was printed.

Meanwhile, other teams’ wishes were not granted and pipe dreams went unfullfilled. They  are  most likely wallowing in defeat and won’t feel like getting up this morning.

The busyness of Sing Song, in addition to the massive workloads placed on students by teachers compensating for Abilene’s transformation into an arctic tundra two weeks ago, have made this past week one of the longest I, personally, ever have ever experienced.

I fought with people I respect and argued with roommates, friends and coworkers. My girlfriend and I even postponed Valentine’s Day to a more convenient time.

All of these things have filled my week with stress upon stress, but one thing helped: going to church on Wednesday night.

I didn’t feel like making the time to go. I attended mostly out of obligation. But the hour I was there was a time of relaxation and freedom from the worries of the day.

True, after that hour, it was directly back to the grindstone, but that time did help.

Jesus is called the “Prince of Peace,” “the rock of my strength,” “a shelter in the time of storm.” All of those are titles that help us carry on through our struggles.

I knew that this morning I would be going to church with my girlfriend’s family. But now instead of feeling obligated to go, I’m looking forward to the refreshment I will find there.

I’m taking my troubles to him.

And then maybe apologizing to some of the people I referenced above for the way I acted this week.

I know that for many of you reading this, it will be too late to attend Sunday morning services, or even Sunday night church. But maybe when you do, you can set aside some time to be thankful for getting through the past week, and spend a little time with your father.