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Absence makes the heart grow fonder…
Recently I took a whirlwind vacation with my daughter to Europe. We were going on our epic adventure for two weeks! In preparation I checked our itinerary 10+ times a day, made lists of what I needed to pack and did meal planning, just in case the food was not suited to our taste. Packing our suitcases I had to think of casual/ dressy options, plus swim gear to get us through the two weeks.
I packed my Bible and my devotional because I was going to purpose my prayer and worship time while away. Lastly of course, I double checked and made sure my Lifesongs App was up and running. We. Were. Set! Hugs and farewells; then we were off across the world in 12 hours.
We arrive and hit the ground running…
Day 1 – Day 2: Super busy taking it all in
Day 3: Pretty much the same except I started feeling anxious.
I started really, really missing home. My husband and son were across the world with me thinking of them and wondering what they were up to. I noticed the time and realized they would have been in church at that moment! I quickly went to my Bible searching for that Peace, that something to fill the void. So I get set, Bible open, then I go to my music: NO WIFI!!! I did not have a contingency for that! I took my LIFESONGS for granted.
I managed my devotion time without music, but it just wasn’t the same. I remember even thinking before we left, how cool it was going to be to still be connected to home and able to somewhat still be a part of life at home, even though I was so far away! I was so bummed at myself for not even downloading some worship music.
I am now so very aware at how much music impacts my spiritual walk! I’ve always had Christian music as a soundtrack to my life. I have the awesome privilege of sitting in the studio while LifeSongs downloads into my spirit. Even though I am at work and multi-tasking, there is the background of encouragement.
You don’t realize how much your spirit hears! Even when you are not attentively listening.
I finally did get my Lifesongs! It was just that – MY LifeSongs! How good it was to hear God is Good all the Time! I will never get tired of that phrase. It is a sweet, simple truth that gets me through when I don’t know what to pray or what to say in any situation.
For me, I equate worship with music. I know my daily walk, representing God, is a form of worship – but music has been my tool to draw close to God and have Him draw near to me. Often times, I can sing a song and it becomes a prayer! Oh how grateful I am for this recent awareness! I am so very grateful that I learned a very valuable life lesson from this: Worship is more than an event or an action or a song. Worship is a lifestyle of placing God and His will for our lives before anything else!
I know for me personally, that when I put God first, EVERYTHING is OK!
I feel I should mention that the once I was able to get LifeSongs on my big trip, the first song I heard was Even Then by Micah Tyler. I feel like it was my own personal little kiss from God, even though I messed up and disconnected – He was still with me!
“Come, let us tell of the Lord’s Greatness; let us exalt his name together. I prayed to the Lord and He answered me. He Freed me from all my fears. Those who look to Him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.”
Psalm 34:3-5