Worship

I was four years old the first time I can remember hearing a praise and worship song. Our family was living in Newport, Rhode Island at the time. It was a sunny day and my mother sitting on a chair in the dining room with her guitar settled in her lap and her song book on the table in front of her. She was playing “This is the Day” on her old Yamaha acoustic and singing like an angel while I played on the floor with some toy cars. Except I really wasn’t playing. I was listening. Listening to my mother sing love songs to her God calmed my heart when life was so hard for us. It made it easier for me to accept her God as my God just a few years later when our days were even darker.

What I remember most about those days listening to my mother praise God is that joy filled the room. She enjoyed worshiping God. It saddens me now to know she has not picked up her guitar in over twenty years, but those memories stick with me. I grew up loving music and I always loved taking part in worship at church whether in the choir, or singing special music. Worshiping God was always joyful, even in moments where the songs we sang were deeper, more emotional songs. So I guess the question I have for everyone is: What does worshiping God mean to you?