Here is the 3rd part of my quarterly update of the Henderson home. Most of the updates we write are about our children, but today I am going to share a little of what the Lord has been doing the past few months in not only my heart but Austin’s as well. The Lord is always refining His children, teaching us, encouraging us, growing and stretching us to look more and more like His son; therefore I see more and more that our walk as Christians with our Father is never dull or boring. God put us on earth for a purpose. He has a plan each day for us if we will submit and trust Him with it- and our God is not dull! He longs for abundant life for us- a life full of meaning. And that kind of life takes us out of our comfort zone. Like Peter, He has been asking me to step out of the boat (my comfort zone) and trust Him, yet again, over the last several months.
Back in January I felt the Lord asking me to take off my makeup for a week. I know, for some of you that might seem like no big deal, but this was really hard for me. I finally submitted. Many people noticed throughout the week, of course, and that wasn’t easy. It was a very humbling experience. One of the many things I pondered however during this time was obedience. Was I willing to obey when God asked me to do something? I tell my children almost every day, “Obedience brings blessings and disobedience brings consequences.” Did I really believe that trusting Him (even when I wasn’t sure why he was asking me to do this) and obeying would reap a blessing? The answer was yes; however I still reluctantly obeyed.
God was faithful to refine me during this week- to expose some “junk” in my own heart- but to also bless me. Looking back, I believe the main reason God asked and the blessing I received was to give me more confidence to trust Him the next time He wanted me to step out of my comfort zone.
Ironically, the next time He asked was just days later…we were asked by our worship pastor to share a piece of our journey with Caleb, and then I was asked to dance- to dance a dance of worship before the Lord at church on Easter Sunday –What? No! that is/was WAY out of my comfort zone! Austin and I pretty much decided that we both weren’t ready for something like that…but God kept whispering, “Do you trust me?” Well, yes I trust you Lord BUT…and I had 8 VERY GOOD reasons for saying no- EIGHT! 1) I haven’t dance in 16 years! ; 2) I have NEVER danced in a worship setting; 3) I have no background of this kind of worship- I don’t know where to begin; 4) I’m not a choreographer! I can’t make up the dance! 5) I have really bad knees. 6) What will my friends and family think? 7) Is our church body ready for this kind of worship? 8) Are we ready to be this vulnerable with our story?....do these sound like good enough reasons to say no? We thought so! Honestly, every time I thought about dancing I could hardly catch my breath. I wanted to run away, for the Lord to come back, for anything but to face this feat ahead. I would even shake with fear.-- Isn’t that just like God, though, to put me such a place of neediness! Well, I decided that I would take the next step as it came to me- I could not commit fully to saying yes, but I would move forward as the Lord made a way…and the amazing thing was just how the LORD made a way for us- remember this was a huge step of faith for Austin as well.
Austin and I prayed for the Lord’s provision. I needed help. I felt alone not having experience with this kind of worship. We prayed for someone to come alongside and support us. For a few weeks we just listened to the song over and over. Then one day at Kroger I ran into a lady that I hardly new. Her daughter went to a Home School Tutorial with Caleb- I didn’t even know the mom’s name. We exchanged a few words, and in the midst she said she taught dance to children at her church’s studio in Smyrna. I thought that was neat considering I danced for so many years, but we parted quickly and that was it. Later that afternoon it dawned on me that maybe that interaction was a provision from the Lord! It seemed like a really long shot; however, I ended up getting her email and contacting her. I explained my situation and asked if she could help in any way. In the meantime (she actually wasn’t able to help me for another 3 weeks), I was utterly amazed as I listened to the song- the Lord gave me little by little 8 count after 8 count of the dance! I was truly stunned! Then after 3 weeks, she contacted me and said this was right up her alley- that she would love to help me! I couldn’t believe it; I cried at the Lord’s provision. She turned out to be the most amazing gift- sweetest, most humble, Spirit- lead woman! She not only helped me complete the dance, but she validated the dance I already had; she gave me confidence to follow the Lord’s calling; she exposed me for the 1st time to a body who embraces this kind of worship, and she became a prayer warrior for me during this time.
Well, there were many other provisions along the way for Austin and I as we faced together each of the 8 hurdles. I have thought many times since Easter Sunday, “What if we had said No!?” We would have missed out on so many blessings! - I ran across a quote I wrote in my Bible that said, “I don’t know what God will do; I only know what He has already done. Therefore, I will stand up and go forward and expect the bridge of His deliverance- this is faith.” Wow, we truly got to see His bridge of deliverance over the past several months! Even when I was honestly scared to death, it felt so good to trust Him!! Isn’t that what we sing…Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus; just to take him at his word….
So, here is the video that was recorded of our story and then the video clip of the dance. Will T so graciously videotaped the dance for us.
There are two videos below. If you click the image it will take you to the video.
There are two videos below. If you click the image it will take you to the video.
Thank you so very much to those of you who journeyed with us through this process and joined us in prayer. You were a sweet blessing!
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