Learning

This morning, in worship, I held Judah, my youngest son (now 16 months) as I sang and danced. In the midst of enjoying the service, I noticed that he was enjoying the service too -- his precious little voice lala-ing along with the music, waving a flag and bestowing slobbery kisses (he is just learning how to kiss) onto my cheeks and face.

As I loved on him and he loved on me, I smiled thinking about how precious his childhood was. He didn't know how to sing, how to dance, or how to kiss -- but there he was singing, dancing and kissing his heart out.

God spoke to me and said that we are like my son, and God is our parent. This analogy is used all the time, but it wasn't how we usually think. Today, God pointed out to me how inexperienced we are, how naive, how we don't know how to do things. And God, our Father, thinks our childhood is precious.

I remember learning how to dance when I was 17. I was raised in a church that didn't clap, raise their hands, and NEVER moved into the isle (unless they were discreetly walking out of the service for some reason or another). Through a long course of changes in my life and walk with God, He has taught me how to dance and be free in worship. But the first time I consciously had to make the effort to be free and dance was tough. It wasn't the first time I'd ever danced - there had been a time before that when I was anointed and pretty well overtaken by what God was doing (like being slain in the Spirit I guess, but backwards because I was moving.... anyway). But the first time I had to stand up and make myself start dancing was really tough. I over thought it, I wanted to make sure I was doing it right, I was so worried that God (and everyone else) would think I was an idiot. And somehow, 7 years later, its as natural as breathing. God moves, and I move with Him. Its normal.

Its things like this that I am talking about. Dancing, kissing, walking, singing - these things are things we learn how to do. Some of us are better than others at certain things - but we all had to learn how to do what we do. And God rejoices in the process of watching us learn how to do what we do.

There will be things that you learn to do (and have already learned to do) that don't come naturally, but they are things we learn to do, want to do, need to do to have a fulfilling relationship with God. And in the process of learning how to do them, remember that God rejoices in the process and loves on you as you learn how to love on Him.