Where are you, and who are you with, when you experience deep, soul-nourishing worship?
For me, this happens whenever I am with a specific group of women on Wednesday evenings. Each time I gather for worship with these extraordinary women, I am in God’s presence with friends who, like me, carry stories of deep brokenness. Yet even deeper is our hope in the healing power of Christ.
At a recent gathering, we were introduced to a familiar worship song with a twist. Many of you will recognize the words of “How Great Is Our God” by Chris Tomlin. But this version features people singing from all over the globe.
Despite unfamiliar languages, we feel oneness of heart. And in that room of American women and foreign voices, my heart is transported to a group of Rwandan women.
Red dust covers my sandals. We sit in a circle on the ground of a small school room. Before I barely situate, three toddlers vie for a spot in my lap. Aunties and caretakers hold more little ones. Babies bounce, sleep, play.
In the circle, beautiful women read from the Kinyarwanda Bible. Their dark complexions provide a lovely contrast with their bright clothing. I cannot understand their language, but I am mesmerized by the words of God in this new and remote tongue.
As I bask in the beauty of these faces and the Word of God, my Rwandan friends begin to stand. A translator says to me,
“Now we dance praises to God!”
The brightly clothed women begin to sing and to dance. I cannot take my eyes off of their feet. They dance with abandon in the midst of their deep brokenness. That red dust covering the school room and my sandals? That dust fills the air with majesty.
Rwanda Worships.
American women worship in a small room in Colorado Springs and Rwandan women and babies worship in a small room in Kigali, Rwanda, and poverty is broken. God’s love shatters through whatever currently plagues, and love fills the room and we celebrate the dust.
Wherever you worship, however you worship, break darkness and just worship. You’ll be amazed at how your perspective will change. And you will join with the saints across the world.