Made To Worship

I love Art.

Some of my deepest times of Worship come when I am painting.

But Art can be... Frustrating. Stressful. Messy. Expensive. Exhausting.

Take a look at our costumes for a Halloween Party we attended last weekend.

I know! I know! The bulldogs got smoked! We still love them!

Anyway.

These costumes were more work than I originally thought they would be. They took longer to make than I ever intended. The whole process got messier than my husband would have liked :) and took time to clean up.

There were times of frustration, physical exhaustion, worry and joy. It was a process. There were times when I wanted to throw in the towel. I learned some valuable "art" lessons. In the end, I found myself putting the final details on the project, listening to music, thanking God it had all come together and I was worshipping!
I wasn't worshipping bc I had finished the project. I was worshipping because I had just received a phone call from Lee that went something like this:

Lee: "Abby, Guess What?!?!"
Abby: "What?" (knowing this was good news based on his excited tone)

Lee proceeded to tell me that someone had spoke with him and said that she had been referred to Lee by a friend. She proceeded to tell Lee that her son had recently been dx with plagiocephaly and would have to wear a helmet. Lee had the opportunity to encourage her purely because he could relate to how she was feeling.
She told him that she had been crying for 3 days straight. He simply said, "my wife did too, but you will overcome all of that. You will make it through this season"
(those probably weren't his exact words but it was something like that)

Those words, "my wife did too" rang in my ears even after we got off the phone. I did. I had cried. I had been sad. And now, I was praising my Father that I had been all of those things so that I can relate to and encourage others who are walking the same path.

Lee wrote me a message that simply said, "Abby, it is so awesome to be used by God to encourage others. I hope He continues to place people in our path."

In that moment, the only human who was capable of speaking words of life and encouragement to that heartbroken mama was someone who had once been in her shoes. Someone who had once ached like she was aching. I am thankful the Lord chose Lee to do that.

All of these thoughts and this conversation were taking place when I was finishing up our costumes.

Aren't some seasons with the Lord like an Art project?

Exciting yet exhausting.
Short yet painfully long.
Joyful and frustrating.
Weary yet gaining strength and knowledge.
Messy... Yet. Perfectly. Orchestrated.

All in all... There is worship.


"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may DECLARE THE PRAISES of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."

1 Peter 2:9