Unexpected Worship

When we think of worship, what usually comes to mind is a church service or singing in a church service. But there are many ways to worship God. I love to worship God by spending time looking at all the beautiful things He has created - the stars that shine so brightly in the sky at our house in the country, the birds that flock to our birdhouses or come to pick off the fish from our pond, and the beautiful plants and flowers that grow all around our property. Music is also a big part of worship for me. Often a song has the unique power to touch my spirit and bring me to a place of worship where God can speak just the right Words to me. But until I attended Freedom Fest at Trinity the other night, I had never before experienced worship through fireworks.

I'll admit it: I really didn't want to go to the festival. I mean, I can see the appeal for most people. There are TONS of attractions to ride and see, LOTS of food vendors, a live jazz/swing band, and of course, the fireworks show. But when you have trouble walking because of cataplexy, your health condition and medications give you an intolerance for heat, and you're doing your best to stay off carbs, a 5-hour festival on Trinity's large campus in the Florida sun and humidity amid a crowd of people eating ice cream is not the most comfortable place to be. I did ride my motorized chair which helped with the walking, and my husband set me up with a golf umbrella to keep out of the sun (I was already sunburned from 2 1/2 hours in the pool the day before), but I was absolutely sweltering. Also, having that big umbrella over me didn't exactly make me very approachable for people to talk to or even see who I was. It was nice to catch up with my mother-in-law and my husband's grandmother and also a few friends from Trinity that found me for a chat. But after a few hours, I was beat. I didn't want to ruin it for anyone else by leaving before the show, so when my husband suggested I sit out in the air-conditioned truck until the fireworks started, I thought that idea was very appealing.

When he came back to get me, I was sitting in a truck with steam-covered windows, pumping the A/C and listening to the radio. I had dried off, cooled off, re-fixed my hair, and had gotten a chance to recharge my battery from the effort it takes to just be around people and stay upbeat and friendly. When I opened the door to step outside I realized that although the sun had gone down, you could almost cut the humidity with a knife. I wasn't looking forward to being out in that again and almost told my husband to go ahead without me. But I went. After a somewhat unusual version of our national anthem was sung, the fireworks began exploding in synch with some very powerful Christian music selections. As I gazed up at the breathtaking array with Jeremy Camp's "There Will Be a Day" playing in the background, my heart swelled with love for a God Whose beauty and majesty far surpasses even that magnificent presentation. Everything inside me just wanted to stand up, lift my hands toward heaven and shout praise to Him! And through my tears of exhilarating joy I smiled to myself and to my King for allowing me to experience worship in such an unexpected way.