I was inspired last night by the flying feet of a four-year-old.

The worship practice and final run through for our upcoming Sunday service had just begun when little Tala came through the door with her mother who runs the sound booth. Her usual playmates absent on this particular night, she was forced to entertain herself. And so she danced... and danced... and danced!!! With every song she started moving the moment the music did, head bobbing, arms in motion and feet fairly flying off the floor as she bounced and twirled, letting the joy in her heart come out through her toes!

Distracting? Delightfully so! I could barely concentrate at all, so fascinated was I by her total freedom in expressing what she was feeling! I longed to put my violin down and join her in that dark expanse of empty floor. I told myself that I didn't want to inhibit her in any way, so totally unaware was she in that moment of anyone else in the room. Yet sadly I realized that I carry a lot of weight she has yet to gain, pounds of peer pressure and fear that keep my feet nailed to the floor instead of flying freely as hers did. So I stayed where I was,but my spirit danced along with her and her joy was contagious, reaching not just into the depths of my heart but all the way into the hallways of Heaven where it surely put a smile on the face of the King.

"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks."
(John 4:24 NIV)

One-Third Free

Three American hikers who unwittingly crossed the Iranian border in July of 2009 were arrested and have been held captive ever since. Sarah Shroud, the lone woman in the group, was just recently freed after a ransom was paid for her release. Suspected of espionage, her companions are still being held and are told they will remain in captivity to stand trial for their alleged crimes. Sarah tells reporters that although she is no longer physically imprisoned, she is only 1/3 free, as long as the other 2/3 of her group are still in jail. She now spends her time working passionately to secure their release.

Christ paid the ransom for our release from bondage. As we celebrate our freedom, may we have this woman's compassion for those who are still held captive in their sins, working as diligently to secure their freedom, knowing the judgment they face unless mercy intervenes.

Perhaps we'd try a little harder if we likewise considered ourselves only as free as the ones who hike beside us on our journey through life. If we tied our own liberty to theirs, we wouldn't rest until we all were safely Home.

"...Fear not, for I have redeemed you [ransomed you by paying a price instead of leaving you captives]..."
(Isaiah 43:1 AMP)