I grew up going to Mass most of my life. Devout Catholics are what we were in my household. I left all of that behind in New York and headed down to the Dirty South to start my life anew three weeks ago. I’m so excited to be writing this new chapter in my life. I’m starting a new career as an insurance adjuster in just shy of two weeks and am living with my best friend until I find my own place.
So far, everything has been fabulous—lots of wine, late nights, and laughter. Sheila and I have been best friends since we were little girls in NYC. We met on the block and have been inseparable ever since. She moved to Atlanta and married her husband seven years ago but got divorced in under a year when she found out he had an addiction to gambling and women. Now she’s single, living in a four-bedroom house in a beautiful neighborhood west of the city.
One thing I haven’t done since I’ve been here is worshipped. Sheila is a self-proclaimed Christian but doesn’t go to church regularly, so on Saturday night, when she suggested we get up and go to church the next morning, I was surprised. I told her I was game and soon found myself in a pew in the midst of a complete and total charade. Initially, I enjoyed the soulful music and praise, but it quickly became a circus. There was screaming, yelling, people running up and down aisles, and old ladies falling out on the ground speaking in tongues. I was mortified.
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I looked over at my friend; she was clapping and smiling as if nothing major was happening. I couldn’t believe it. Who was Sheila? Did I even know my friend? If she was OK with this, what else would she let fly? When we got back to her house, she had the nerve to ask me if I had enjoyed the service. I smiled weakly in her direction and said, “yes.” She informed me that we would make it an every Sunday ritual to do “church” together. My stomach literally turned because I know I cannot handle sitting through that debacle again, but I don’t want to offend her.
Should I be honest with my friend about the religious antics at her church or suck it up and get on the Holy Ghost ride?
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