He wandered into the gym where kid's church is held. As he continued his exploration, I got to listen to a bit of the message. Pastor Jeff was holding up two cards, one that read "YES" and one that read "NO". As per most children's pastors, he spent some time teasing the kids, asking them if they could read what was printed on the "YES" card. When they would respond with a resounding "Yes!", he would playfully ask what the word was. Again, "Yes!" was screamed and Pastor Jeff would act befuddled and it went round and round like this for awhile. It was a rousing round of "Who's On First" for the elementary masses.
It didn't take too long, however, for several of the kids to catch on. There were a rebel few who began to see through Pastor Jeff's gamely charade and would shout, "No!" to everyone else's "Yes!". They were ahead of the crowd and chose a contrary way of proving that they had the game figured out.
And I just laughed to myself there in the back of the gym. Those contrary ones who catch on so quickly and go against the grain don't always make things easy on figures of authority. They've got it all figured out and are bent on proving it.
But then it also hit me how those contrary ones are trailblazers and quite possibly the future leaders of the rest of us. They are the ones who aren't content with the norm and they strive to be heard, to make a difference.
It all just started me thinking how God uses those sometimes "unappealing to others" aspects of our personalities to bring about His will. He truly turns ashes into beauty as we surrender the ashes to Him.
It makes me think of how I have heard that my husband was as a child: boundlessly energetic, fearless, adventurous........in a word, tiring :).
To see how God has taken all of those qualities and molded them for His purpose is lovely: Matt is an anointed worship leader whose energy and passion inspire those around him.
I was blessed to do a human video yesterday in church that I created when I was 17 years old. From the time that I was a pre-teen, I would create "dances" in my room to various songs (many of which were sung by Amy Grant). Since I was never much of a dancer, these dances were really just random movements set to the music......a pre-cursor for the human videos I would someday create. What my siblings would have called annoying and amateurish and hilarious (not in the good way), God turned to use for good. And it just amazes me that God is able to use the kicks and flicks that I set to music to speak to people and give Him glory.
For those who did not grow up in an A/G church and don't know what a human video is - you are missing out!! Here is one of my favorites for a visual:
Essentially, human video = drama set to music
It can be so easy for us to be hyper-critical of ourselves and the character flaws that we feel that we possess. But when we view things from God's perspective, we are able to see the beauty shining through the ashes.
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