Sunday, June 19, 2011

Worship

There is little else that I love more than when I get to witness my kids in true, genuine worship for their God. It is a worship that comes from the heart, unencumbered by the social pressures that we learn to feel as we grow older. It is pure, heart-felt, and precious. And yes, it is cute :) I am fairly sure that the worship that children offer blesses the Father far more than the most elaborate performances, eloquent prayers, or generous gifts from adults. This is true worship and it encourages my heart as a mom when I get to see one of my kids engaging in it.

There is so much that children pick up from being in the 'grown up' worship time with their families. I still remember looking around at the adults in the VERY formal church I grew up in when I was no more than 5 or 6 and being impacted by their worship. I saw the joy in their faces when they opened the Word. I witnessed their reverence in prayer. I watched how they paid attention to the Pastor's sermon and took notes so that they could remember the important message he was giving. I watched all of these things and they had an impact on me. Was I bored sometimes? Yes. Did things go over my head sometimes? Yes. Am I forever grateful to my parents for doing the hard job of parenting me during church and teaching me how to worship God with the rest of the congregation? YES!

My kids aren't perfect. They don't just sit quietly in church because I have such well-behaved, easy children. It is work to have my girls and baby boy with me in church. Parenting doesn't stop when you enter the church building. This is one of the most important times of parenting out of the whole week. Although B.J. and I get the chance to introduce our kids to the Saviour of the World throughout the week, Sunday is a special time. This is the time we get to teach them how to worship God with a body of believers. What greater joy or responsibility could a parent ask for?

Where do my kids learn to worship? They learn it in our daily songs and verses, when we pray in the evenings, when we help a neighbor, when we bring a meal to a family in need, and when we stop and pray for a need, and at my parent's hymn sing. And they learn it in the corporate worship and teaching on a Sunday morning. Enjoy :)

No comments: