On Saturday, I got to be a part of a dance called Restoration. Essentially, Restoration is a dance put on yearly by the Wesley Foundation and BCM to restore dance back to it's original intention - to worship God. The overall theme this year was "Rebuild." But each dance has its own theme in a sense too. The dance I was in was called "All Around the World." The theme of our dance embraces the idea of the verse in Revelation that talks about people from every nation worshiping God around the throne (Revelation 7:9). The chance to be in this dance was only a small glimpse into what that might look like, and I have to say that it makes me pretty excited. Personally, by being in this dance, I got to meet and become friends with so many people from all around the world! As being a part of Restoration, when we meet each week, we don't just dance, but we also have small group time where we get to share with each other and talk about God's word (and, specifically for our dance, God's heart and love for all of the nations). If I learned anything by being in Restoration, it would have to be that I can't put a cap or any limits on to what I think God can do. The second I start to think that God is "done" working in a situation, so to speak, He reminds me that it's only the beginning. Then, He comes back and does something even more powerful or even more great just because He's God and He can. I can truly say that my heart was fully in this dance, and it was a blessing to fully devote myself to this ministry this semester. When we performed, we were dancing for an audience of one as a way to bless Him through the gift of dance that He has given us (and to ultimately bless others).
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| "All Around the World" Dance (credit: Joshua Truitt) |
I went to bed on Saturday night exhausted and with every intention to just sleep through most of Sunday. However, I live in apartment, and my sleep is partially determined by the person upstairs. (Like, literately, the girl who lives above me.) I guess they had a sleepover or something because by 9am Sunday morning, it sounded like a dance party or something was going down. I tried throwing a pillow over my head to get some more sleep, but, of course, that didn't work, so I just went ahead and got up so I could at least be productive and do some work. I looked at the clock after a while and noticed that it was 11. The service that I usually go to on Sundays starts at noon. I texted some people just to see if they were going. At 11:40, one of the girls that lives in the same apartment complex as me said she was going and offered to drive. I was already up and dressed, so I figured "Why not?" I go to Athens Church, which is kind of a branch off from North Point in Atlanta. Andy Stanley is our teaching pastor (via video recorded feed), and we are in the middle of a series called "It's Personal." Sunday's teaching focused on the explainable vs. the undeniable. He talked a lot about the miracle of the blind man (John 9), and allowing God to work in (our) lives without limiting Him to a "God box." Often times, we like to put a limit on what we think God can do, and we want Him to work in the specific way we think He should. But that's not how He works: He's God and He's good and He's all powerful.
To continue, Monday night, I had an amazing opportunity. The Passion: Let the Future Begin tour was coming to my home church in Augusta, and I was going. I wasn't really expecting anything from that night, but I figured I'd go and see my family for a little, support the ministry, and worship God. After driving for 2 hours after my Monday classes, I got back to Augusta at 4:30, and went on in the church (because a lot of my family is on staff there, and I was staff for the night since I was going to help tear down afterwards). I sat up in the sound booth and studied for a test I had the next day while they worked on getting the last lighting and sound things in order for the night. I watched people line up outside and Kristian Stanfill skateboard around with his Bible. (Yeah, you read that right.) The doors opened at 6, and the sanctuary was flooded with people who had come from all over the surrounding area. The people I was sitting with finally arrived, and we went up to our seats I had saved us. The worship set began a little after 7. I went to Passion 2013 back in January, so I pretty much knew all of the songs Kristian, Brett, and the band were playing. The worship was great, and you could really feel the presence of God moving. And then it came time for the midpoint message. And by this point, you've probably caught on to the theme of this post and could guess what this message was about. That's right, Brad talked about God blowing off limits on our lives and how He wants to use us for great and mighty things. Now, this might be a message I expected from this night because I know a lot of worship nights give the message about how God wants to use that night as a springboard for the future, but I feel like God might be trying to tell me something here.
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| Kristian Stanfill leading worship at The Sanctuary |
I don't think I would have given it too much thought with only hearing it once, but I believe God put me in each of these 3 positions 3 days in a row to hear that same message from 3 different people 3 different times. With each of these situations, I would not have been in those places had something else not happened for me to be there. For Restoration, an event that was supposed to take place on the same day got moved, and I was able to miss a mandatory meeting I was supposed to be at. For the church service, I was woken up by the people on the floor above me. And finally, for the worship night, I made a decision knowing that I would only get 2 hours of sleep in a night, drive a total of 4 hours, and take a test the next day. Looking back, it's crazy to see how much God has worked in my life just in these past 3 days. And even on a broader level, it's crazy to see how certain little decisions and choices I've made have led me to where I am today.
In summary, the concept that's been so impressed upon my heart these past few days has been that God has no limits. In no way am I saying that I fully grasp that or that I've fully stepped into that, but I think that that truth is what He wants me to grasp onto over the coming days, weeks, and months.
Megan
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