When God Puts Me In Check

  As noted in our "about" section, I work for the elderly.

    You should know that I love it.

  So I take one of my clients to church on Sundays. We go to the church he's gone to for the 10 years that he's lived here. It is an incredibly traditional church, which I am no longer accustomed to. Growing up my parents loved them, but I personally haven't gone to one in over 10 years. Just tend to gravitate to the more contemporary style. Nothing wrong with either preference.
   You should know, however, that I tend to be incredibly arrogant and somewhat pompous. Here were my thoughts upon first entering this less than 100 member church that doesn't use musical instruments when worshiping and singing hymns:

• These people must be legalistic and pious
• This church will not teach me anything or help me grow in my faith
• I'm going to hate this

   And this is how I imagine God reacted to my over-sized head:

"Ima put that girl in CHECK"

   Here's the thing: when I worship, I dance and hop and shout and (guaranteed every time) cry. This church is not the place for any of that (well, minus the crying). So the Lord pulled down this giant projector screen in my me-filled brain and displayed in bright lights and giant letters,

"You REALLY mean to tell me that you can't worship me without guitars and drums and hopping all over the place Ariel? You mean to tell me you can't worship me solely with the voice IIII gave you?"

So, I piped down, took a seat, and said, "Sorrrryyyyyy", to which God of course said,

"It's ok baby. Happens all the time."

"So God, you obviously know better than anyone, seeing as how you made me and all, how to teach me things. Will you teach me how to worship you here? Will you help me look past the prejudices I hold, and feel your presence here?" And, of course, God replied,

"Shyooooot girl. I thought you'd never ask! Buckle yo seatbelt!!"

(God talks to me like this sometimes)

So now, I would like to make for you some new bullet points of what I found out about this church. I realized these bullet points quite literally upon my first day there with my client, and they have only been reinforced more and more every day I've gone since:

• The people at this church are more the example of what a Christian family, community, and church should be than any other I have ever seen
• I have learned and grown from this church IMMENSELY 
• I. Love. Going there.

The people there are so entirely consumed with love for one another and for Christ. They ALL welcome me by name, check constantly on my client to make sure he's doing well, pray for one another, support one another, and strive to live for Christ. These people are some of the most beautiful people I have ever met.

Now, about the worship. Boooooy has the Lord proved me wrong!!! So this church sings purely hymns and they sing them purely a cappella. When this church sings, it is one of the most beautiful sounds I have ever heard. Sometimes I don't even sing just so I can listen to the pure resonance of beauty filling the room.  This past Sunday was pure awe-inspiring. I have no words to explain to you the magic that was cast in that chapel that day. I cried the whole time and was filled to bursting with the Spirit of the Father. And I knew at that moment that God had responded to my prayers. I had known for a while at that point that God was teaching me through that church, that He was with me while I sang to Him, and that my heart was growing for those people, but it was during that morning that I knew I was completely worshiping without instruments, without dancing, without hopping and shouting. I'm not saying those are things we should not use or do when praising. But what I learned is that I can worship and praise and glorify quietly also, with just the strings God tuned so delicately within my throat.

As always, I love you

Ariel