November 26, 2011 Journal Entry. Caught up in a Moment of Worship While Driving.

Almighty Infinite Father, Your ways never cease to amaze me.

            Today, I faced a six-hour drive on my return home from spending the Thanksgiving Day holiday with my husband. I was tired and dreading the long drive home. Hoping that our seven-year-old son would get comfortable in the back seat, recline and possibly take a nap, I laid out some cozy blankets and a comfortable pillow for him. Then, I stacked my favorite compact discs (Cd's) by my side. "Perhaps, if I sang along to each 2-hour CD, the drive might seem to go by faster." I thought to myself.

            I was surprised when the first CD I put in immediately lulled my son to sleep. Unfortunately, the slow melody was incidentally calming me too.  So, I switched the CD for the next one in the stack. Christmas favorites. All slow songs again! I had chosen all slow songs for the drive. What was I going to do now?

            I turned the radio on. Maybe I could find a contemporary Christian radio station. As the digital scanner ran through each station, I noticed a pattern. All of the stations that came in clear were in Spanish. Then finally, one English station tuned into my radio. The DJ said, "Oldies..." A song from my childhood began to play. I hadn't listened to anything but Christian radio for the past three years. So, I wondered, "Can a true believer sing secular songs and still worship God from a pure heart?"

Then, suddenly, the song, "Never knew love like this before," by Stephanie Mills had me sitting up straight and bouncing to the beat. Soon, I was lost in a moment of worship. Forgetting how foolish I might look to other drivers on the road, I raised my left hand in the air and held onto the steering wheel with my right. I found myself singing along. And as I sang, I thought about my relationship with You. “ I never knew love like this before. Now, I’m lonely never more. Since You came into my life.” I began to picture singing the song directly to the You as though You were sitting to my right in the passenger seat. By the time the second song began to play, my eyes had welled with tears and I was struggling to keep my eyes open.  I listened to a few more songs, all the while imagining You, my Savior, by my side. Time flew by.

As I pulled up to our home, I was still enjoying the intimacy of Your presence, almost wishing the drive had lasted longer. While I shook our son awake, in my heart I prayed. "Thank You, Jesus, for this precious time spent alone by Your side!"

How God led me to first listen to Christian Music

I remember when God first communicated with me through
music. I had just moved into the new apartment to provide
a safe place for my younger son. The apartment was
small compared to our family home. Reception for a
cellular phone and radio stations were limited in the
area. I felt the effects of the poor radio reception right
away and found myself listening to static when I tried
to tune into my usual Country radio station. After a
week, I became frustrated and began to tune through
radio stations to find another with clearer reception.
One day, while moving the station dial back and
forth, I came across a song which grabbed my attention
immediately. I cried as God tugged on my heart.
The artist sang, “I’m coming back to a heart of worship,
and it’s all about you, all about you Jesus.” I
sobbed as I knelt on my knees. I began to pray and
apologize to God. I admitted that my life to that point
had been about me. I had worshiped myself. My
life was about how I wanted my house to be, how I
wanted others to behave, how I expected to be treated
and how I defined love. I was focused on myself, my
needs and what pleased me. It was the first moment
I realized God should have priority-even over my
family. I decided to turn my life over to God and
began to worship Him.

With the hopes of hearing the song again, I continued
to listen to the station for the next few weeks.
For the first time, I was listening to spiritual songs
outside of a church choir. I was surprised at how
much I enjoyed the songs that played. For years, I
was under the impression that I was “too cool” to
listen to Christian radio and that the songs were
corny. Now, I was finding comfort in every song and
beginning to feel uncomfortable with the songs I listened
to in the past.

Around the same time, God led me to an internet
site that streamed Christian music. I began downloading
songs and playing them repeatedly. Each
time, I cried as I heard artists sing about their lives
and the words of scripture. I couldn’t explain the
sense of comfort and change I was going through,
but God was reaching out to me through spiritual
songs and my heart was softening.

Over the past three years, I have only listened to one type of music, Christian. 

Amazingly through this medium, many times, God has lifted my spirit, taught me scripture and reminded me that He is always with me.