The Importance of Praises

No matter when!

Sing His praises! They are to be the brazen bellows of wood, fire and steel from the throats of men- and yet, the softest coo, the sweetest song, in the heart of God.

This came to me this morning- and I want to share what it means to me...To praise God, boldly and unabashedly, is so imperative- not just in deepening your appreciation and your capacity to love, but God teaches us great things through our praise. He teaches us what is truly important- and he dims the dramatic needs and wants we place in such high priority as people, and shows us that He does provide precisely what we need. Those moments, where we realize we are take care of, are freeing. They make us brave in our faith, they make us vulnerably honest with Him- and in return, He gives us such wisdom! SUCH wisdom that we are forever changed, our heart's radically moved and our need for Him ever stronger. The important thing- the most important thing- is to continually praise Him, when one would say you have nothing to be thankful for.

The story of how I came to Williamsburg isn't a story that I generally share. It was heartbreaking- and it was cruel.. and of course, for the next several months, life got no easier. I had been left with nothing... no car, no car insurance, no health insurance, no money, no film school I had been ferociously working towards, no sense of anything anymore. And I was literally dying. All of these things, were taken from me- and I had done nothing to merit it. My whole life had been lined up- and now there was nothing. As far as how I felt toward God, I wasn't angry. He didn't directly do these things, and I didn't believe it was Him who made me as sick as I was- and blaming Him, in my mind, had always been pointless... but I certainly wasn't praising Him. I was very ill, I was broke- and there seemed to be absolutely no hope for me. In a way, I was mentally preparing on that night for death. I just didn't see, anymore, how my life could recover. I was numb- and I was destroyed. I had no one I could trust.

That night, a gorgeous storm rolled in- and I sat on my porch, slowly sipping a stiff drink. The rain came down in sheets, deafening beautiful waves. As I watched that first rolling, thunderous lightning bolt flash across the sky in the distance, I could not help but think of how awesome the bare world was. I thought, "Even the lightning worships him. Even the storm." Three more huge bolts rocked the sky, and although I was alone on the balcony, I smiled wide and laughed. I laughed! The me who five minutes before was convinced that a sad and early death was on its way, was laughing. Because I didn't fear death anymore. I didn't want for anything anymore. The only thing I could think was, "Even if I have no where to go, and I sleep in the woods tonight, I am safe, my soul is God's- and there is nothing that can be taken from me, that He does not already have for me." I praised Him for the air, for the water, for the very essence of the earth as if I had never seen it before- As if my eyes had never seen a thing.

The thunder crashed out again and shook the building ferociously, and to me, it sounded as a hearty laugh, a joyous gesture. God knows how much I adore thunder storms- their power, and their beauty. I suddenly understood- He had already protected me, my whole life, and now, in the midst of this mayhem, he was promising to do it again. The thunder and lightning was his voice, asking me, "Do you believe in me?" And oh, did I ever fall on my knees and say, YES.

I had no idea how my life was about to change. That was two years ago- barely. If you had told me that night that I would be married to the man of my life, free from pain and from self loathing, from a lifetime of abuse, from destructive people and forces that nearly killed me, from disease that was eating my flesh- and with child in a womb that was decreed years ago to be infertile, I likely would have stopped laughing. My heart wouldn't have believed that a future like that was meant for me. But that storm was the beginning of a new chapter- of a new transformation- and He allowed it to be so, because my faith praised Him.

The things of this world, which so frequently bend us wildly out of shape, are nothing, They are dust, they are tiny, insignificant, they are trite- what is everything, is God's presence, His teaching, His love- and His truth. There is never anything that can keep these things from being bright in our lives, other than our own indifference to the miracle of everyday. Praise is what frees us from turmoil- it is what lifts us up above war, and allows us to see even the ugliest of things as God sees them, with God's hope and God's light. Never stop being thankful, never give in to the darkness of doubt- question, but do not live in disbelief.

In the pinnacle moment, God will send you your thunderstorm. He will awaken your heart and change the course of your life- and the reason why is because He promised to. This is one promise you can keep close, and you can count on.