Today I was on the treadmill listening to Pandora shuffle my stations. A Lauren Daigle song comes on called Losing My Religion. It almost stopped me in my tracks mid-run. But I knew that my cardiovascular health needed me to continue…thus I ran and thought about the song and what it was speaking to me. It’s really beautiful and you should check it out on YouTube, Amazon Music, Apple, whatever is your go to for music.
The words that struck me the most was the chorus at the end. It goes like this:
I’m losing my religion
I’m losing my religion
To find you
I’m losing my religion
And finding something new
’cause I need something different
And different looks like you
I’m losing my religion
I’m losing my religion
To find you
To find you
You
Simple words with profound meaning that spoke to my heart because this is my faith. It was almost like she wrote this song just for me. You see I LOVE my church. I love the way it fills me up, teaches me, gives me great friends, and a space to feel safe and loved. But my relationship with my Father is not just about those walls. My relationship with my Father is not at all limited to Wednesday and Sunday when I’m most often inside my church building.
That’s the beauty of the infinite love of our God. He is always with us, always loving us, infinitely caring for us and urging us into good works in his name. In fact, I think about my life and how many profound moments God has filled me and I have worshipped him outside of church.
This month….God has blessed me and been by my side while I have sat at both winning and losing basketball games for my kids. God has blessed me and been by my side while I watched my oldest child go to her first job interview and then her first day. God has blessed me and been by my side while I’ve been down and sad – sending my sister to remind me to turn up my worship music and sing loud! God has blessed me and been by my side while my children have been fighting, and laughing, and sharing time together. God has blessed me and been by my side while I’ve learned devastating news about friends. God has blessed me and been by my side while I’ve shopped, done laundry, ran errands, cleaned my house. He has never left. I’ve prayed to Him and just talked with Him. He’s loved me and I’ve loved him in return.
I don’t mind losing my religion because I don’t want a label to tell people that I love God. I want people to see me and know that I love God. To want to know about that special relationship we have that guides me during the times I’m not at church. My church is a beautiful, sacred space that fills me, teaches me, gives me relationships, and fills me with love. But it is GOD that makes all of that possible. It is GOD that walks with me each minute. It is GOD that makes me special.
Last Friday was our first Fill the Table Friday of 2019. It was the biggest one we’ve had yet. I originally created it to bring together friends to share a meal around our table together. This year we adapted it a little to incorporate not just a meal around our table but a meal at our house so we don’t have to limit the amount of people that come. To share in a community of love and laughter. To share in a prayer of thanksgiving and blessings upon us.
This Friday was beyond special. I was so blessed to share the meal with so many. But more than that, we were all sharing a sacred space with God, because it is through the gifts that he has blessed me with that we were even all there together. God was there that night sharing in the love and laughter of His beloved children.
GOD IS SO GOOD!
One of our friends couldn’t come and this is what she texted me.
(P.S. Do checkout ifgathering.com it looks pretty awesome!)
I did look up that verse and those around it. My Bible titled this section The Fellowship of the Believers which is exactly what I felt like Friday night.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer…Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. – Acts 2:42,46-47
God gives us buildings to worship and sing praises in, but he doesn’t want it to stop there. When we leave those places and move about our daily lives he still wants us to worship him, sing his praises, and be in relationship with him. Because he never leaves our sides. He’s always there sharing with us – we should share with him in return!
Isn’t God so good!?!
I would love to hear how you have been in relationship with God or how your worship time has spread outside the walls of your church this month. Leave us a comment with just how that’s happened so we can spread the good news of Christ!
Simply. Honestly. Emily. 