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The sanctuary slowly fills around us.
Conversations overlap in every direction. Coffee cups balance on armrests. A little boy in suspenders spins in circles until his mom gently catches him by the shoulders. Two teenage girls compare notes on something happening at school.
Normal.
That’s the word that surprises me.
It all feels...normal.
Not polished.
Not perfect.
Just...people.
The lights dim.
The room settles.
A man I’ve never seen before walks onto the stage with an acoustic guitar slung over his shoulder.
Gray is the lead worship pastor at New Chapter Church, but since he is on paternity leave, I guess this is who is taking his place.
He adjusts the microphone. “Good morning, New Chapter Church!”
The room answers back.
He strums his guitar. “Let’s worship together.”
The first chord echoes through the sanctuary.
I don’t know this song.
That doesn’t bother me nearly as much as realizing I used to know all of them.
I glance beside me where Harper is already singing.
Not loudly.
Not for anyone else’s benefit.
Just...comfortably.
Like she’s home.
Micah stands beside her with one hand tucked in his pocket.
Halfway through the second song, Harper reaches over without looking and slips her hand into his.
His fingers tighten around hers before he keeps singing.
I look away.
Some moments feel too personal to watch for very long.
It isn’t the music, or the lights. Or even the people on stage.
It’s the way hundreds of people somehow become one together.
