Do Battle with Worship

I’m the Nursery Director at our church. I love being the Nursery Director.

I love the kids.

I love the parents.

I love the volunteers.

I enjoy getting to know each of them. My desire for the parents of these little ones, is that they get a chance to step into the worship service and can trust that their kids are being well cared for and they have the freedom to worship without distraction.

The only downside of being the Nursery Director is that I’m usually walking into church late. I’m securing all the doors, checking in with the volunteers and greeting some of my favorite elderly people who sit in the back of the church. (I love the whole spectrum of ages. From newborns to the elderly.)

I love worship music. I love how our church worships. When I first walk in I have to take a breath, focus on the song and be in the moment. I need to let the distractions, the worry, and “all the junk” in my head go.

Sometimes I don’t sing along at all. I listen to the congregation behind me. Have you ever done that? Just listened? Corporate worship can be so uplifting to a tired soul.

There are moments when worship is hard. There have been moments where God seems so far from us. Where He feels unreachable. That’s our doing. He never moves. He never walks away. We may side step away for a bit, or maybe their is just so much “junk” in our lives cluttering up our relationship with Him, or maybe a “storm is raging” around us that we can’t see Him through it, but He never leaves us.

No one is exempt from trials, storms, illness, or even death. These are the moments when we need to be strong and fight back. As Christians we are called to pray. We need reach out to God for help. Well, what if you can’t find the words? What if you don’t have the right frame of mind, or your head “isn’t in” to talking to God?

WORSHIP!

Turn that radio on and sing. Even if your body isn’t feeling it. Even if He seems so out of reach. Sing! Sing from your spirit until your body feels it. Sing and cry and sing some more.

He is listening.

(Photo credit Peter D. Cowles Jr. Photography)