Psalm: 66:1-4
Shout with joy to God, all he earth! Sing the glory of his name;
Make his praise glorious! Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!”
So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you.
All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you.
They sing praise to your name.
Singing is one of my favorite things to do. Music is the number one way I connect with the Lord. I have been doing just this with my new friend, Monica! As I mentioned previously, this month we are volunteering at a pre-school for underprivileged children and our main duty is to assist in the classroom. I was placed with the 4&5 year olds, and Monica is their teacher.
Monica is a woman who loves the Lord with all she has. She is beautiful and she is passionate. Whether teaching or singing, she gives everything she has. In our classroom we sing with the children each morning. After our usual routine, one day, we didn’t stop singing.
She and I sat in her classroom singing every hymn we could think of. She started giggling and said, “No white girls know these songs!” I grew up with old gospel hymns and have always had a special love for that kind of music. To me, they are earnest words of praise and adoration put to music. Monica and I made a sweet spiritual connection through words written so many years ago.
That morning opened up an entirely new line of communication between us. Not only did we find that we both love singing, but we began telling stories of how God hears our praise to him and speaks to us through our music. It was such a gentle reminder that the Lord will never tire of hearing us worship Him.
This past week the preschool had their graduation ceremony. They have the kids wear caps and gowns and pass out awards and the whole nine yards. Their hope is to provide the kids with a sense of accomplishment and to provide parents with a reason to be physically present and supportive in their child’s life. Monica and I were asked to sing at the graduation, so we prepared two acapella songs to sing for the group.
The video below is one of the recordings, but the best moment of that experience is when the entire room of parents began singing with us in what sounded like a perfect chorus! A few parents hushed those singing, but I wanted it to continue. Just like Monica, when these people worship, it’s raw. It’s genuine and heart-felt. It’s taught me that I worship a God who lavishes me with undeserved grace, and worshipping Him with my whole heart is, while weak in comparison to what He does for me daily, an honor.
My prayer each time I sing…
“I love you lord, and I lift my voice to worship you. O my soul rejoice. Take joy my king, in what you hear, may it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ear.”
