Worship

This morning, our pastor did a sermon on the definition of worship and how it factors in to our everyday lives. It was a great sermon about worship being more than lifting our hands and voices during a church service, but at it's very heart, worship is valuing the things and people God values. And of course, the things we value are apparent by the way we spend our time, our money and our energy.

Anyway, as Pastor Brad went on, he started to name some of the gifts that are given to us by God and then spoke on how often we tend to worship the gifts instead of the gift giver. As he spoke I thought of the tendency of many parents (myself included)to worship our kids, putting them up on pedestals and allowing them to become everything we work for and live for. I stared blankly towards the front of the stage where Pastor Brad was speaking, lost in my thoughts and pondering how easy it is to fall into that trap of worshiping our children. I mean the love we have for them, so instantaneous and deep, is a small picture of the love God has for us. The bond between parent and child can become so all consuming. I said a quiet prayer and vowed to the Lord that I would never allow myself to fall into that trap. My heart is His as are my children and He can do with them what He will.

I then turned my gaze down to my lap where Izzy was laying quietly and she smiled at me...and I swear I heard the Lord chuckle to Himself.