With My Body, I Thee Worship

I wrote this article a couple of years ago, while I was part of a young mom's leadership team. I needed to put it in front of my eyes again as an encouragement. Perhaps this will be a source of encouragement for you as well.

Quiet times are elusive. Have you noticed? I get up in the morning early. One child wakes early. I try it again the next day a little earlier and the other one wakes up. The next day I bag it, opting for thirty additional minutes of snooze alarm sleep. The following day I give it another shot, since the day I slept in the kids slept in too. The kids stay asleep this time, but my husband asks me to make him a lunch before he leaves and another quiet time opportunity is lost. The next morning I resolve that NO MATTER WHAT, I am getting that time in, so I sit in that chair by that window and try my best to sit with and worship God. All the while, anger is boiling up because in the background I hear my youngest calling out for me. Arrrrg! And as I continue to ignore it (teeth clenched), I find I am spending all my time "ignoring," and no time with the Lord.

I long to sit at my Lord’s feet and just listen and talk to Him. Gather my thoughts; focus my efforts for the day; worship Him. But it seems I am thwarted day after day. And this has been going on for four years –my entire mommyhood. I have had seasons inside these past four years where it has been easier to sit quietly, read my Bible and pray for the wisdom I will need to get through the day. And I have had seasons when it felt impossible. But a new phase – make that a new phrase – has entered my world.

With my body, I Thee worship.

When I first heard it, I imagined the act of raising my hands, closing my eyes and swaying to some perfectly beautiful stanza depicting the character traits of God. Ah, this must be what worshipping with my body is. But the Lord has taken me on a deeper journey.

He whispered to me one (interrupted) morning, “Here is how I want you to worship me today: smile at, snuggle and nurse your up-too-early son. Worship me with your body today.” I walked upstairs with a smile on my face at the thought of the task at hand, all the while thinking can it really be so? Is it legal, Lord, to call such a thing a ‘quiet time?’ Yes, I think it is: I am coming to see that when I wake up early for that coveted quiet moment with my Lord and one of my kids interrupts or circumvents it altogether, that I have actually been given a new opportunity to worship. With my body, I Thee worship.

And after that morning, my eyes were opened. I wake each morning with the intention of sitting with my Bible, and some mornings I do. But other mornings, I am making a lunch for my husband. Last week I was sitting down, taking notes as my husband listed off all the things he needed my help on that day. And this morning I poured a cup of milk and let my 19-month-old son push the microwave buttons to warm it up. And as I do this – with the freedom of knowing that the Lord accepts this form of worship from me – I have joy in my heart. Because with my body I Thee worship.

It is saying to the Lord, I give You my every movement – the act of pulling my eyelids open and rising early; the stretching down with my arms and back to pick my son up out of his crib; or careful assembly of a turkey-and-cheese with a genuine smile on my lips and a peace in my heart. I give You each of these movements and lift them up to You as an act of worship, to glorify You. And continue to teach me how with my body I Thee worship.