Stretching leads to dancing

Can you look back on a time in your life when you have really been stretched? Challenged? Changed for the better in a significant way?

When I look back on the last few years, it's like I hardly recognize myself... in a really good way. It's hard to believe just a few weeks ago, we celebrated our six-year wedding anniversary. It seems like six years ago, we were just kids! (Maybe we were!)

Recounting all of the stretching and growing we've experienced in the last few years would take a novel to complete, so I won't attempt that. This week, however, I took a good look at one specific area of life that has changed significantly for us in the past year - worship.

Approximately one year ago next week, we were at a conference with some friends, watching other people worship. We were supposed to be worshiping, too, but it was so much more fascinating to watch the crowd. Although we had grown up with traditional hymn-singing in church, it wasn't the loud music that captivated our attention. It was the reckless abandon with which the people around us were worshiping Jesus. While it seemed a little strange, there was a part of me that wished I had that.

The change that began within us upon returning home started so subtly that others likely barely noticed. The swaying of the body to the beat, while first undetectable to the naked eye, felt like moving mountains inside. Clapping. Singing loudly. Hands raised, first just at hip-level, then shoulder level, then one arm up... from one month to the next, God was tugging at us to experience Him in a new way.

This week, nearly one year later, we danced. We jumped. We shouted. We praised the One who has changed our lives in the most incredible ways. And we weren't the only ones. In a room of 40-some people, 40-some people were right there with us, sweating, laughing, exalting our Heavenly Father.

What caused this change? The simple answer is really the truth: we found joy in His presence. It wasn't a matter of learning to worship the "right" way. It was recognizing that joy is not circumstantial. "The joy of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10

Truly, that joy gives life. Jesus gives life, not only in worship but in every facet of life. And for that, we are so thankful.