This past week’s snowstorm caused no end of excitement in our household.  So much, in fact, that some of my friends marveled at how I could get so excited by something as simple as a little snow. But here’s the thing – it wasn’t about the snow….. My life is complicated – I’m sure yours is too.  I routinely deal with heavy topics that  consume my life.  They spill over into everything.  I’m distracted when I shouldn’t be, I’m too tired to enjoy things, and occasionally I don’t react as I should (yes, it’s true…).  What’s more,  when I go to church, sometimes I struggle to stay focused and worship. But every once in a while, something happens that changes all that.  Snow is one of those things.  I’m not talking about just seeing lots of “white stuff” on the ground, or skiing or sledding.  I’m talking snow FLAKES – watching them land, and looking at their designs before they melt to nothing before my eyes. Yes, like most of you (at least those that will admit it), there is a small child that still lives in me. And this child plays a bit of a game, trying to find two identical snowflakes.  I haven’t done it yet.  And I understand from those who’ve tried, even after cataloging thousands and thousands of snowflakes, I’m not likely to see two that look the same.  And even if I did – I’m pretty much guaranteed they will be different if only I look closer. But I digress….. The whole point is that snowflakes captivate me – they make me lose all sense of time, and forget my problems and anything else that’s not really that important.

   I want to let my “inner child” worship, as only my inner child can do.

And they evoke this surprising response from me. It’s like God is showing off part of His creation in a private showing – just for me.  I’m filled with wonder – at the beauty and detail of what God has made, and at the incredible God that could create something like this. I’m  amazed that God would choose to show off His creation….to ME!.  It drives home to me that God not only knows I exist, He delights in me and loves to reveal Himself to me. And I love Him…. Well, it’s not just snow that does this.  There are other things….. Like seeing the tops of the clouds when I fly in a plane:  In all of history, it’s only in the last several decades that anyone has seen this.  I get all excited to see this view that previously only God and the angels saw.  How cool is THAT???       And spider webs (without the spiders 🙂 ): I think about the God that designed the webs – all their various shapes and purposes.  They are beautiful and so perfectly detailed…..     Things like these in nature trigger the same reaction in me: This is SO beautiful……I can’t believe I got to see this….that God is showing this to ME – just me! And I feel like the most special child of God on the planet! I am TOTALLY delighting in God!     I am WORSHIPING God! I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s ever felt that way.  I think might be a little of how David felt in 2 Samuel 6, when he was bringing the Ark to Jerusalem for the second time. You may remember that his first attempt didn’t work out so well – because David didn’t do it God’s way.  But David learned, and now the second time was incredible.

David Dancing Before the Lord(http://lorialexander.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-scolding-wife.html)

And so we see David, in pure joy, praising God by “dancing before the LORD with all his might.”  It got to the point that David’s wife told him this was totally inappropriate behavior for a king.  But David was adamant: “therefore I will celebrate before the LORD.”  I think David was bursting with joy that God had allowed him to do something as special as bringing the ark to Jerusalem. And so he danced with child-like abandon, not caring what others might think. That’s what I want.  I don’t want to act my age, or according to what others think is appropriate when I’m with God.  I want to worship and celebrate before Him – no holds barred, in  pure joy.  I want to let my “inner child” worship, as only my inner child can do. Which makes me wonder – isn’t this another aspect of what Jesus meant when He said that only those who receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will enter it.   Yes, we need to come to Jesus with child-like faith, trusting Him as a child trusts a parent.  But then we are also called to worship as a child would worship – in pure amazement, pure wonder, pure enjoyment. That’s what I want in my relationship with God. And little things like snowflakes help me do that. How about you?  Am I the only one who sometimes struggles to worship in church (please tell me it’s not so!!!)  Have you found things that help you worship?  What does it look like for you when you delight in God and worship Him?  I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!