We often have seasons of how we interact with God in slightly different ways. I don’t know about you, but there are times where I am hungry to read the Word of God, others where I want to sit in the presence of God, and others where I feel the need to press-in in prayer. I’m currently in a season of increased prayer, not that I give up reading my Bible or worshipping or fellowshipping, but I find myself being called to a deeper prayer walk. Watching Ellie, and I believe that kids go through these same ideas of interacting with God differently in different seasons. There are times that Ellie wants to pray a lot, and there are times where she won’t join in to pray at all and demands that Mommy or Daddy prays for her. There are times where I catch her reading her Bible by herself or she wants to listen to me read mine, and then other times where she would rather play quietly during my devotion time.
As her parents, we have decided that the best way to cultivate her journey with God is to immerse her in our walks with God. We pray out loud, have set times to read our Bibles, do family communion, go to church together, and bring up discussions about God when they fit. We desire to show that following God is a way of life for us.
The other night we went to speak at a middle of the week young adults service. Ellie is typically shy of any childcare that isn’t her regular Sunday school class, so I told her she could sit with us during service if she wanted. She jumped at that, and joined us for the service. I was excited to immerse her in the service and help her feel a part of what the adults do during service.
As I held Ellie and worshipped, Ellie joined in with a soft wordless song. We caught each other’s eye while singing and both smiled. Ellie was worshipping alongside her mother.
My heart broke for joy for several reasons. First, she was entering into worship. It was in her own way and not under compulsion, but flowing from her heart.
Second, she hasn’t joined in during worship since we were living in Bangkok. For several months prior to our move, Ellie would sing during worship. When we moved, the worship song style was different and unfamiliar. The humming and singing that Ellie would do didn’t match these beats and patterns. She closed up and hasn’t sung during worship since. It has been a year since I heard Ellie worship alongside me and she has joined back in once more.
A beautiful moment because Andy and I chose to bring Ellie out to a late night service and to include her in worship. As we drove home I could barely keep back the happy tears as I recounted our worship time to my husband. What a wonderful night.
One Mom's View 