I had heard of people having a “place” they go to when they talk to God. A place that is just for them and The Lord to be together. I had even tried it, but it never felt very real- not until this week anyway. Having one of these places was mentioned briefly in a session at training camp and immediately my mind went to a place. I have never been here before and it was never one of those places I tried to come up with myself in my head. So here I was, walking around in an open field that has never felt more real and I am there with Jesus. The speaker for that night prayed at the end of the session and Jesus and I sat on the same side of a picnic table, listening to this prayer, silently.
God has always felt far away when I prayed. Like He is up in the sky somewhere and I am here on Earth talking to this big man in the sky who I can’t see and because of that, I have never really felt like my relationship with Christ was very personal or intimate. Later that day, we went to worship. So because God has always felt like this far away being, worship to me was just singing songs. We had done some worship earlier in the week and had done it together as a squad a couple of times and everyone else seemed to have this magical experience with the Lord that just wasn’t happening for me. But this time at worship, I went to our place. Instead of empty words coming out of my mouth, I was singing to Jesus, alone, at our picnic table. We were swaying back and forth to the music together. When I would mess up the words, He thought it was funny. He smiled as I sang to Him and we listened to the Church singing praises together. Then a slow song came on.
He stood up from the table, in all His glory, and took me by the hand.
Hand in hand my Father walked me out into the open space in this place that is all our own and he hugged His daughter as tightly as He could. Never having felt such comfort and love, He slow danced with me like we were at a daddy daughter dance. I have never felt more confident in the fact that He loves me and He is proud of me. He didn’t yell at me for all of my wrong doings. He didn’t cry in disappointment. He didn’t say anything at all. Jesus showed me his love through a slow dance. He gave me something so incredibly personal and allowed it to be so vivid and clear and He did that all for me. We serve a God that loves us enough to meet us where we are at, whether that be in immense pain or unfathomable joy, and pulls us in so close that our hearts beat as one, and gives us something so intimate, like a slow dance, just because He wants to. Not because of anything we could ever do, but because He cares so much about us that He wants to.
