Most people can remember
attending a dance in Junior High School.
For some they are great memories, but for others the memories consist of
standing along the wall, watching others have all the fun. I can remember all of the extroverts trying
to get us introverts out on the dance floor.
The pressure was unbearable. They
simply couldn’t understand that we were introverts, we were completely
satisfied with our place on the wall. We
didn’t care if they danced and had a good time, why did they care so much if we
chose not to?
When I was 19, and well
out of Junior High, I found myself attending a church. I may not have been in Junior High any
longer, but the pressures felt very familiar.
Instead of the “you can only have fun if you dance” pressures, it was
the “you can only have true worship if you dance” pressure. Once again, there was a group of people that
simply couldn’t understand that being an introvert was not a problem that
needed to be fixed. I don’t care if you
raise your hands and dance during worship, why do you care if I don’t? Not too long after I was
baptized, I found myself wishing that I could experience the same freedom in
worship that others had. I realized that
although I was an introvert, it wasn’t the reason I couldn’t enjoy a dance back
in Junior High and it also wasn’t the reason I couldn’t fully experience
worship. The truth is, I was incredibly
fearful of what others might think. I
was terrified of being judged. Fighting
for my freedom to be an introvert was keeping me from pushing through that fear
experiencing the true freedom that comes from worshipping my Savior.
Today, when I find myself
starting to worry about what others may think as I worship, I remind myself of
that Junior High girl that never truly experienced a school dance, and I begin
to worship with freedom. I raise my
hands, move my feet and sing out words of praise and worship to my Savior.
--Julie Tamez
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