Living Room Worship

by Charis

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​Well, we’re stuck inside our houses
With the people we claim to know and love best
And now, with televisions, laptops or radios tuned in
We discover something called worship, online.
And it’s not the same

​Weird without the coloured lights
The sound of a hundred speakers
And people—hundreds or more—just beside

​But now:

There’re no dimmed lights
No loudspeakers
No crowds
​
Instead we have dizzy sunlight,
Gleaming through familiar frames
And tinny sounds from only one speaker
A couple of people—family
And nowhere else to go

​Suddenly
The sounds of family nearby
Are loud
We can hear every breath
And the exact way that they might sing
And the sound of clothes rustling
No more big, dark, comfy spaces to throw loud voices into
No more forests of raised arms to secure our own hands
No more dimmed lights to hide expression
And, suddenly
My soul is vulnerable
In a different way than before

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Can I still worship in such a way?
When the world,
The people around me
Refuse to fade away?
When even closing my eyes seems wrong
And engaging is suddenly so much harder

Because I can hear the kids next door playing
And construction down the street
Someone sneezing
Somebody laughing too loud
I can hear cars and sirens and neighbours
And I can hear dishes clanging in the kitchen
I can smell the spices of home food

I am too distracted to worship!

But all these distractions
Aren’t they just the simple things that were always there?
Gifts
That we’ve forgotten in spectacle—lights, crowds, stages

Maybe I am learning to appreciate
Richness

​The copious aroma of life

​Spicy, sweet, tangy
Salty, savoury, tender flavour
The taste and touch and feel of life--
In everyday moments

​I can no longer block out
That the people around me are more precious than spectacles
And that God can be worshipped by us too
Together, in a way that doesn’t deny

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This rich aroma
Of our everyday lives

Now I share with God
The kitchen cooking, dishwashing, couch-sitting, pillow-fighting,
Debating, laughing, crying, smiling,
Secret handshakes
Nicknames, chores
Pet projects, pet peeves
Smallest thoughts
Biggest dreams…

The smell of home-cooked food
My everyday life

Because God loves to see life

​Life
Is Richness

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© 2020 Charis Noviskie. All rights reserved.