A week ago, I was in the mountains of North Carolina. It was our summer vacation and we spent several days with my wife’s family surrounded by God’s absolute breathtaking handi-work. On Friday, the Nichols’ four went on a hike around Whiteside Mountain. We hoofed it up the side of this mountain and were greeted every now and then by an occasional hiker who continually reassured us that “it was worth it”.
As we approached the top, we started to hear the distant rumblings of thunder in the distance. Needless to say, it quickened our pace.We got to the top of the mountain and we realized we stood feet away from the edge – it was a AWE
moment! That’s when we noticed the source of all that thundering noise; a storm was brewing on the other side of the valley. The opposing mountain was covered in dark clouds and rain was pouring out. You could literally see the system moving across mountains and occasionally a whisper of cloud would hit us in the face. It was amazing!
moment! That’s when we noticed the source of all that thundering noise; a storm was brewing on the other side of the valley. The opposing mountain was covered in dark clouds and rain was pouring out. You could literally see the system moving across mountains and occasionally a whisper of cloud would hit us in the face. It was amazing!
So, I did what comes most naturally to me – I started snapping photos like I was a member of the paparazzi. I took out my zoom lens, I played with settings, I took family shots, I took nature shots, I went crazy. My boys were ready to get going. They were concerned about the storm, they were tired and they were ready to go. I was oblivious! I was snapping and I was in the zone. I was seeing things through my lens that excited me and made me feel totally alive.
I got to thinking about it afterwards, wouldn’t it be cool to worship with the same kind of passion and energy that I was feeling while on top of that mountain, snapping pictures? Why can’t we feel that kind of focus and energy when we’re singing or praying or sitting in a group with others talking about God and all that God is?
That’s when it hit me – God made us all intricately unique and though we’ve been known before the foundations of the very earth, God has waited to get to know us until now! God’s “waitied” till now to get to know all the unique pieces that make up me. God not only gave me my personalities and interests, but God’s excited that I have them and wants them to come out in full 1080 DP!
So, doesn’t it figure that with all these God given desires and uniquenesses that maybe I could use them to worship? So all my expression and interests, all God given and inspired, are okay to engage with in worship of God! That means to me that getting lost while taking pictures of family and nature was a deep moment of worship! That means laughing with friends and sharing a meal with my wife and kids is an act of worship. Worship is about opening up wide to all the unique ways in which we can find the JOY of our God all around us.
How cool is that? Worship certainly involves Sunday mornings, or Sunday evenings or
whenever else we purposefully join together with other brothers and sisters to adore and enjoy our God, but it also occurs in the checkout line, at a traffic light, at our desks, at bedtime, or wherever else you choose to engage.
I hope this weekend we’ll all get the opportunity to go to a few “wide open” and maybe unconventional places for Worship!
grace & peace