I Cry During Praise and Worship
I cry during praise and worship. Is that weird? Does anyone else do that? Truthfully, sometimes it does make me a bit self-conscious! I tend to hope nobody sees my tears or sees me trying to covertly wipe my eyes. What if they think I’m weird? What if they think something is wrong? What if they try to console me, and I have to just say, “Oh no, I’m fine. I always cry during praise and worship. I’m just weird like that.”
Of course, it never fails that they play a song at church where I’ll get really emotional, and then right as it finishes they’ll say, “Now turn around and shake somebody’s hand, and have a seat!” Oh great! Not only do I already feel a bit abnormal for crying, but now I have to let somebody see my puffy red eyes, wet face, and maybe even mascara streaks down my face (…that is on the rare occasion that I actually put mascara on that Sunday morning or was brave enough to attempt to apply it in the car while Eric was driving—mascara and lip stains are dangerous to apply in the car you know!).
Do I chance people seeing my blubbery face or do I just come across as rude and sit down quickly bending over as if to grab something out of my purse so people can’t see my face?
Then I remember Nancy
I remember when I was very young, maybe elementary school age, I would be in church singing along to the music, and I would see this lady cry during praise and worship. She did it every time. I don’t know why, but I would just sit there and stare at her sometimes. I couldn’t figure out why she was crying. So one day I asked my mom, “Hey mom, why does Nancy always cry during praise and worship? Is she sad?” I can’t remember my mom’s exact words, but she tried to explain to me that Nancy was not sad. Quite the opposite actually. My mom said she was crying because she was happy and because she loved God so much.
I didn’t understand then. It wasn’t until I was older and experienced some of the same emotions myself that I understood. Remembering Nancy has helped me process my reaction as an adult. It helps me to say, “It’s okay if I cry during praise and worship. I’m not crazy, and I’m not alone. Remember Nancy? She cried too.”
