She arrived early on a Sunday morning so that she could beat the crowds and get her favorite seat in the sanctuary. The hallways were quiet as though the church hadn't woken up yet. The only sounds you could hear were the children's ministry workers preparing rooms and stopping once in a while to grab a cup of coffee or greet another volunteer.
Gradually you could hear more sounds in the hallway. Women's high heels on the tile floor, parents checking in at the registration desk and the worship team warming up for the first worship set. The voices of children were beginning to fill the halls and soon you could see them running around the corner to their Sunday School class. It was wonderful to see the Sunday School teachers stop to greet each child with a warm smile and a hug.
As the young woman watched the activity of the morning she noticed something different in the corner of the hallway, however. It was a room that was different; a room that was quiet. She moved closer and was touched as she looked through the little window of the classroom. The room was very serene and calming to look at. In the corner was a large swing and on the floor were exercise mats. A volunteer was sitting on the floor stroking the hair of a young boy and playing a little music box. Another volunteer was across the room in a chair reading stories to a little girl in a wheelchair. And lastly, there was a little girl standing by the door with a twinkle in her eye waiting for her turn to go to worship. With excitement in her voice she looked at the volunteer and said, "We need to go to worship. That is what we are here for."
By now the young woman was leaning over the half door watching the little family in the room. She was touched by the love she saw the volunteers give the children and the children give the volunteers. One of the volunteers looked up at the young woman and noticed the familiar look of a new onlooker. The look of fear, the look of pity and the overwhelming feeling of respect for the volunteer that served in this classroom. The volunteer had seen this look all too often and gently said to the young woman, "It is me that is blessed. Every morning I serve in here, I am blessed and my perspective on life changes. These children love the Lord in the purest way possible. Many of them are limited by their immobility or inability to verbaly communicate. They may have a disability but they do not have a disabled soul."
The young woman started to get tears in her eyes. She looked at the volunteer and asked her what the children needed. The volunteer said, "Just people to love them, teach them and give them the opportunity to worship. Music is a universal language."
The young woman came into the room and started helping a child in a wheelchair. They gathered the children and headed down the hallway to the worship room. It was there that the young woman began to understand. The young boy that was blind and deaf was beaming as the music began to play. The little girl that played off to herself crawled up to the worship leader playing the guitar and laid her face on the guitar to feel the vibration. The young girl with the walker started dancing to the music.
As the hour came to a close the young woman headed home with tears in her eyes. She never made it to the sanctuary but she had been to worship, she had seen God at work, and she had been blessed. That day she may have helped lead some children to worship, but they had taught her what it meant.
