“Dear Jesus, thank you for mommy and daddy and thank you for everything…
…and thank you for singing with us today.”
The words caught me totally off-guard. Thank you for singing with us today.
Spoken innocently, but sincerely. Heartfelt and genuine. And with full conviction. Jesus sang with us today.
I had just finished a worship set with a class of 3-year-olds, a group that more often than not views our singing time with great suspicion and a touch of apprehension: who is this crazy “music fairy” lady and why is she here…again? But today, for whatever the reason, they were all in with the singing. Who knows why…maybe the barometric pressure was messing with their 3-year-old nervous systems, maybe they’d had a good breakfast and their tummies were pleasantly full, maybe they’d had an extra-good night’s sleep, or maybe – just maybe – the Holy Spirit was priming them for a divine sing-along. And then, as I prepared to pray with them, one little cherub piped up and in a tone that invited no argument from me proclaimed, “I am going to pray today.” So she did.
Her words grabbed my attention…and my heart.
Thank you for singing with us today.
Not meant for me, the singing lady, the person who is actually tangibly present, whose fingers work the technology and whose brain masterminds the sessions and whose voice calls out for them to join in. No, her gratitude was directed to Someone else. Someone who, though not visible, was no less present.
I realized, she was right. Jesus did sing with us today.
As I heard their beautiful voices raised with confidence: He’s got the whole world in His hands…. I knew, Jesus instilled that in them.
As I watched their bodies mimic mine as we moved in rhythm to the music: God is so good, He’s so good to me…I knew, Jesus removed their inhibitions and calmed their fears.
As I felt the joy that radiated through the room: Praise Him, praise Him, all you little children…I knew, Jesus was filling us – that place – with His very presence. Immanuel. God with us. Literally.
Jesus sang with us today.
Thank You, indeed.