yellow shoes and worship
I am committed to a season of Worship.....and with that comes thoughts on worship. Most of us think of worship as songs of praise in church and if we are truly "worshiping" we will have our hearts into it and have our hands lifted high, or our heads bowed low or eyes closed to really experience worship. That's all true for me. I worship that way often in church.....especially when we have had a hectic morning and I am feeling frazzled......it is not a sign of my peace or contentment, I assure you. It is a plea.....
With that, I want to explore a bit more about "worship". I think that true worship is when we reach high for Jesus.....knowing He is reaching low for us. Worship is conversation, prayer, communion with him. Worship is bowing down to His Sovereignty.....His reign.....His power.....His plan. At least it is for me.
Recently, one of my children has had to make some hard decisions and there were good things on the pro and the con side. We talked a lot. We wondered a bit. We could not make a decision.....we came to an Impass. We committed it to prayer. Tearful prayer, heart-cry prayer, reckless to the will of God prayer, not because it was such a big decision, but because we really wanted God to decide for us.
5 years ago, I went to India and spent time at a School of Worship for young people and one of the American volunteers came a few days after we arrived. She had been there before. There was an excited buzz about the school of worship the day she arrived...."Julie is coming! Julie is coming!"....they all knew her. When she came, she had a huge cardboard box with her. It was mostly full of bags of rice and other things for India. She was a kindergarten teacher in California and spent her free time fund-raising for this India ministry. She spent her summers here and with family in Thailand or China or somewhere. So my friend Deanne and I were in India because God called us there and we were star-struck by all of it, culturally. Julie came in and on her first day she wore a beautiful Indian tunic and cute jeans and some really sassy yellow shoes that perfectly complimented her outfit. We commented on them, saying they were super-cute.....
Julie said "Thanks!" and proceeded to tell us that she had wanted shoes to go with this outfit and she had prayed and prayed that God, who is her best friend, would help her find the right shoes. And people.....He did. She gave Him the glory in the purchase. For yellow shoes. (they were super-cute). Here we were, feeling dumb-founded because we had cried out to God to allow us to come to India and do whatever He wanted for us here....and we were feeling tired and overwhelmed and here Julie was in her snappy yellow heels......
So I say this. Worship may or may not include music.......but it is communion with the Lord God Almighty and He has opinions about everything. My child and I connected again today and this child could definitely say that the direction was clear. My child felt an answer to prayer, and we both wept and worshiped some more. God is so much in the small things.......and maybe we will see the fruit of this worship and maybe we will not......but I will remember yellow shoes as my example that including Jesus in everything matters. It is....worship.
Julie's story is that eventually she didn't just spend a few weeks each summer in India. She eventually moved there to serve full-time at the Covenant School of Worship training young Christians in India to go to their villages and become worship leaders. We are still friends. I hope to take my mom and Claire there, in Hyderabad, India in June and worship with her there.....with young Indian girls. Oh. My Heart. Oh. My. Jesus. This could be a really significant thing......but only in the spirit of.....Worship.
With that, I want to explore a bit more about "worship". I think that true worship is when we reach high for Jesus.....knowing He is reaching low for us. Worship is conversation, prayer, communion with him. Worship is bowing down to His Sovereignty.....His reign.....His power.....His plan. At least it is for me.
Recently, one of my children has had to make some hard decisions and there were good things on the pro and the con side. We talked a lot. We wondered a bit. We could not make a decision.....we came to an Impass. We committed it to prayer. Tearful prayer, heart-cry prayer, reckless to the will of God prayer, not because it was such a big decision, but because we really wanted God to decide for us.
5 years ago, I went to India and spent time at a School of Worship for young people and one of the American volunteers came a few days after we arrived. She had been there before. There was an excited buzz about the school of worship the day she arrived...."Julie is coming! Julie is coming!"....they all knew her. When she came, she had a huge cardboard box with her. It was mostly full of bags of rice and other things for India. She was a kindergarten teacher in California and spent her free time fund-raising for this India ministry. She spent her summers here and with family in Thailand or China or somewhere. So my friend Deanne and I were in India because God called us there and we were star-struck by all of it, culturally. Julie came in and on her first day she wore a beautiful Indian tunic and cute jeans and some really sassy yellow shoes that perfectly complimented her outfit. We commented on them, saying they were super-cute.....
Julie said "Thanks!" and proceeded to tell us that she had wanted shoes to go with this outfit and she had prayed and prayed that God, who is her best friend, would help her find the right shoes. And people.....He did. She gave Him the glory in the purchase. For yellow shoes. (they were super-cute). Here we were, feeling dumb-founded because we had cried out to God to allow us to come to India and do whatever He wanted for us here....and we were feeling tired and overwhelmed and here Julie was in her snappy yellow heels......
So I say this. Worship may or may not include music.......but it is communion with the Lord God Almighty and He has opinions about everything. My child and I connected again today and this child could definitely say that the direction was clear. My child felt an answer to prayer, and we both wept and worshiped some more. God is so much in the small things.......and maybe we will see the fruit of this worship and maybe we will not......but I will remember yellow shoes as my example that including Jesus in everything matters. It is....worship.
Julie's story is that eventually she didn't just spend a few weeks each summer in India. She eventually moved there to serve full-time at the Covenant School of Worship training young Christians in India to go to their villages and become worship leaders. We are still friends. I hope to take my mom and Claire there, in Hyderabad, India in June and worship with her there.....with young Indian girls. Oh. My Heart. Oh. My. Jesus. This could be a really significant thing......but only in the spirit of.....Worship.
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