Praise

I'm discovering a beautiful thing about my school days - I get out of class in just enough time to see the sunset at its prime. Every evening I walk out of my psychology class to see the earth bathed in golden rays and the sky painted in vibrant hues, glowing shades of ecstasy, all. On these often cloudy, blustery winter days, there's something very life-giving in melting into a moment of praise in the sun's fading light. 


As I get older, my understanding of praise is changing. Growing up, I understood praise to be a physical action one performs to show reverence. Trouble is, physical actions of singing or serving or dancing can mask a hard heart. As a child I assumed that praise was something you did because you were supposed to. You sing hymns because God deserves them. You love because you're supposed to. Now I understand that praise as an action is heart-motivated and emanates from a deep love for the worshiped, but I've grown to understand more than that. I believe praise is less about action and more about the position of your heart. It matters less what you're doing to express praise, but more that your heart is fully engaged in worship. And I tell you, there's nothing that moves me to worship in quite the same way as a sunset. My soul comes alive in the glory of the colors splashed above. I love to sing and I love to dance but in the majesty of nature my heart is turned to trembling goo in awe of my Creator, and all I want to do I stand with my face skyward, pressing my heart towards His in still, wordless praise.