Please don't take your church family for granted. I hope you go to a church where you feel at home. You know people there and they know you. I don't mean that they know about you, but that they really KNOW you and they care about and for you. I had a church famliy like this in Adelaide. I loved seeing them every week, spending time with them and worshipping God together. Just like my 'real' family, I took them for granted. I took for granted the fact that they'd be there for me no matter how I was feeling. I took for granted the love that they shared with me when they invited me to their homes; as they prayed for things going on in my life; as we read the Bible together. Mostly I miss the love they conveyed in such simple ways as smiles and hugs.
'Church shopping' isn't fun. It's like going to live with a long-lost sister that you only just found out you had. You know there's a connection between the two of you, but you don't know the first thing about her. You aren't comfortable around her and you don't know what to say. I hope this is making some sort of sense. There's a comfort to family (church or not) that you don't realise is there until it's not there- or you're not there. That said, there's things you can do to grow the relationship, but it's not easy. The best thing to do is persevere. Persevere with going, with talking to people, with getting involved, with taking up invitations etc. That said, I guess it's the same with your church family too. Sometimes you won't feel like seeing them, or going to church at all (for whatever reasons). You just have to.
The thing I need to remember is that church is about worshipping God. It's not about how I feel, but about having the chance to gather with others to sing praises to our most wonderful creator. It's about reading the Bible together and listening to what God is saying through the songs, Bible, preacher, and other people around us. It's not about us at all- it's about God.
