When he saw her, the look on his face was priceless.
We walked into church just as the congregation started singing the first hymn. The only one who knew we would be there that Sunday morning was my daughter-in-law. She gave us a big smile as we slipped into the pew. Two of our granddaughters were sitting with friends a row in front. The youngest was with a friend in the row behind. My grandson was on the other side of his mom. We made the trip under the radar to surprise my son, whose church was celebrating his ten years of ministry there.
When I tapped the shoulder of the oldest, her eyes got big and she mouthed, “How did you get here?” I answered by putting my arms out like an airplane. Next to her, number three, gave us a big grin. Looking behind us, the two-year old just gave us a look. And when we got the attention of my six-year-old grandson, he kind of smirked as he read along with the service.
I was sitting on the aisle, in plain view of my son as he did his parts of the service. I thought for sure he spotted us. But he didn’t until the other pastor got up to preach. At that moment, looking out into the congregation, my son spotted his mom, tilted his head, furrowed his brow, and flashed a quick smile, totally surprised to see her in the crowd. The look on his face was priceless. My wife’s recently grown-out hair made him pause, too, reacting to a look she hasn’t had for a long time.
The whole event, including a potluck lunch after worship, was a successful surprise for my son. He sensed something was up, but had no idea what had been planned. Afterwards, he commented that the bigger surprise was how good the food was. Previous potlucks hadn’t been as well-prepared as this one.
It’s hard to pull off a surprise like that. The churches I served were never able to do it. I would pretend like I didn’t know anything when I got a copy of the email sent to the congregation about a surprise or gift. Letters to the congregation would be left in the duplicator where I would find it when I went to make copies. People would apologize to me for not being able to attend an occasion that was supposed to be a surprise for me. Apparently no one had the spiritual gift of keeping a secret!
When’s the last time I looked out and saw someone totally unexpected in the crowd? It must have been when a few friends from previous churches have stopped in unannounced. I’m sure I had a great look on my face, too.
