Worship Lessons

by Jessica Martin-Weber

I have said before that my daughters are my heroes but have I mentioned that they are also some of the best teachers I’ve ever had the honor of learning from? Every day I am astonished by the lessons they teach me, I am so blessed.

The case is closed. Nearly a year later the boy that had been sexually abusing our two oldest daughters pled guilty and began serving his sentence last week. This week is the year anniversary of when we learned of the abuse. The emotional and psychological damage became apparent in Ophelia, our eldest as she started kindergarten last fall. She struggled socially and emotionally such that we didn’t recognize our daughter. I will always remember the first week I led worship after rwe learned of the abuse and the months following. My heart was breaking; I was angry, hurt, and desperate. My daughter needed help that I knew I could only partially give. Therapy was a part of that and certainly a step in the right direction for all of us but we knew Ophelia and Lavinia would need more. And I wasn’t sure I could worship with all my heart. But God assured me over time that He would take my broken heart and while I worshiped from my desperate state He would bring healing not only to my heart but to the girls’ as well. A few days ago we got glimpse of how our worship is not meant to be dependent on our emotional state. We had shared with the girls what the boy’s sentence was and what was being done to keep the girls safe from him. This brought up some of the fears and pain from a year ago but as we watched our girls handle this all over again we saw something breathtaking. In a small worship gathering we were leading in a conservative congregation, I looked up towards the girls to check on how they were behaving without a parental presence right next to them and was surprised by a simple beauty. Ophelia in a simple, unassuming posture of worship with her eyes closed, head bowed, and the only one with her hands upraised as she sang “here I am to worship.” My six year old daughter has taught me the importance of worshipping in the face of pain.

For the next few posts I want to talk about worship in the face of pain. If you have a related story, I’d like to hear it. Jeremy and I are praying about this area and how we can use Scripture and our experience in understanding the relationship of pain and worship and your experiences may help us in this process. I'm looking forward to hearing from you.