The Worship of a Child

"I had fun at church. Now, I'm home and I'm STILL wired and excited!" (and holding my FAVORITE baby doll. Her name is "baby")



One day, I'm going to remember to take the camera to church and get a picture of Hannah's face during the music part of the worship service. It is priceless! Let me describe our latest church venture to you. This is from tonight. (We have a Friday night service in addition to Sunday for those of you wondering). We pull up in the parking lot and Hannah sees the building and immediately her eyes light up and she lets out a squeal. We get in the building, and she greets a couple people she knows. After taking care of the essentials (a trip to the bathroom and then a brownie - we happened to have some set out tonight), Hannah literally takes my finger and pulls me into the worship room to find a seat. We're actually quite early, but she is ready to go. Once the music begins, she is captivated for a full two songs. She stares at the musicians, claps her hands, sways back and forth, and grins from ear to ear! Then, we get to the announcement time and as the announcer tells everyone to fill out the registration card on the back of the bulletin, you hear the sound of perforation rips. Everyone is tearing off the card. Well, Hannah grabs her bulletin and RIPS (LOUDLY) all the way down - of course not even noticing such a thing as a perforation line! This may not sound like much, but it struck me as absolutely hysterical at the time and I almost couldn't stop laughing. So, then the musicians do some background music while someone does a dramatic reading of the beginning of Genesis. The lights are out as he's talking about the void and darkness. When, acting as God, he speaks 'light' and the lights come on - there is silence except for one two year old voice clapping and cheering "yeah!!" (Want to guess which two year old that was?). As a prayer is said, Hannah decides she needs to tell me something apparently very important. While she does know how to whisper, this is not the occassion she chooses to do so. As a couple folks start collecting those registration cards people have passed to the aisles (remember the RIP?), Hannah realizes one of them is our close friend Suzanne and decides she MUST speak to her. Of course, Suzanne is clear on the other side of the church. No matter, Hannah is frantically waving and screaming "hi!! hi!! hi!!". More music - accompanied by some cool nighttime solar-system type scenes on the video screen. Hannah points and says "WOW! WOW!". (You know, part of the point of the message tonight was about the glory and magnificence of God's creation...Hannah didn't hear the sermon, but she got the message!) So, then the music starts winding up and I take my sweet girl to the nursery to play and rejoin the service for the pastor's message. At the end, I pick her up in the nursery and stand with her in the back of the worship space for the last song. I'm holding her and she's clapping and enjoying the music, when she notices a bunch of candles in the shape of a cross in the back of the room and loudly proclaims "WOW!"

You know, she notices all the things we adults take for granted. She is captivated, mesmerized, awed, and so excited about the entire experience! What a reminder to me to take time to be awed at God's creation and to really experience worship and not take it for granted. And I'm so thankful that God has placed her here, where she can worship freely. Even if freely for her means a little louder than her neighbors!