Singing over Me
The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)
God sings over His children. It’s not when we perform well but out of His great love for us; He just sings. I have often wondered what part He sings—perhaps the voices of His creation. Isn’t that a joyful thought? Julie Lavender (All God’s Creatures) writes about a time of doubt and discovery.
*****
A fellow homeschool mom asked if I wanted to teach at an upcoming homeschooling convention. I certainly had the experience. I’ve spent more than twenty-seven years of my life homeschooling my four now-adult kiddos. And I continue to stay in touch with the homeschool world through various friends and organization.
However, the more I thought about teaching four workshops at the convention, I began to panic. What if I don’t do a good job? What if I get nervous and stammer over my words? What if I don’t say the right things? I worried about letting the audience and God down.
I retreated to my front porch to sit in the swing and pray. It’s my favorite place to talk to God—in good times and in challenging ones too. I prayed out loud about my decision and debated calling my friend to tell her I didn’t think I could do it.
Movement caught my attention, and I saw a small wren fly to the bird bath. Tentative at first, it eventually stepped into the water and splashed joyously. Droplets of rain went everywhere.
When it finished the dance, the wren flew to the tree right next to my porch swing and began to sing. The trills of melodious notes filled the air. I closed my eyes and swung back and forth, listening. It felt like the Creator was singing over me, notes of beautiful harmony.
I knew it was an answer from the Lord. I felt like God said to me, “You got this. And I’ll be with you.” With a new sense of peace about teaching at the convention, I slipped back inside and sat down at the computer to start preparing for my workshops.
God speaks to us in bird and song, in winds that drift the clouds along, above the din and toil of wrong, a melody of love. —Joseph Johnson
Heavenly Father, thank You for speaking to us—in so many earthly ways and all we must do is listen. Please unstop our ears. AMEN.