Later than I planned to be, I found my way to the back of the sanctuary. I missed announcements and the greeting time was almost over. I looked over and saw my special friend standing close to me and I gave her a big hug.

            When the worship songs started, my friend didn’t always know all the words. Her tone wasn’t even close to the pitch of the song either. And sometimes she sang the verses a whole line after everyone else. But none of that mattered to her. She belted out the words with her whole heart.

            I glanced over occasionally and her eyes were closed with hands open. She rocked back and forth and her face glowed while she sang. After the second song, my husband leaned over while wiping his tears and shared the same thing I was feeling: this young woman was truly worshipping God with her whole heart. And it was beautiful.

             You see, my friend has Down’s Syndrome and sometimes people look at and treat her differently. She doesn’t always know what to say or how to say it. Sometimes she hugs a little too long or hovers a bit too close. And she isn’t able to do things as well as others. But in that moment, I realized she knows how to do one thing better than everyone else in the room: worship.

            She wasn’t singing those words for others and didn’t care if her voice was offkey. Nothing else mattered to her except singing and praising Jesus. As the verse says, she approached the throne of grace with confidence, not of this world, but of her faith in Christ.

Her childlike worship stopped me in my tracks. So often I sing along with the worship team and follow along with the words, but honestly, my heart is a million miles away. I’m planning my week or thinking about the groceries I need to get. The words are just words sometimes and not from a sincere place.

But this morning, as I experienced true worship between my friend and her Jesus, I was led to a broken place of worship too. I thanked God for her precious example and offkey words. And while I worshipped the God I thought I knew pretty well, I learned I don’t know him like she does. She is intimately acquainted in a way I have yet to comprehend. Simple. Childlike. Filled with faith. True worship from a true heart. May we all learn from my sweet friend what worship is all about.