Dancing in the aisles, leaping with joy, a glimpse of heaven
From Marsha Campbell
My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
–William Wordsworth
The child IS father of the man!
The prophet Isaiah wrote: “a little child will lead them.” Jesus admonished his followers with the challenge “unless you become like a little child, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven; let the children come unto me for such is the kingdom”
These words took on flesh, embodied by one hundred leaping, jumping and singing children on our last Sunday morning in Uganda! This was not your usual Sunday morning church service. This was Sunday’s celebration of her children leading the way to “church” as it could be!
The children of The Father’s House led the way toward celebration. These children may have been earthly orphaned, but in this house they danced in the aisles, jumping with joy to the songs that they sang in worship of their heavenly Father. Smiles, laughter and song were the elements of the day as they led the way. One hundred purple clad children made our hearts leap with a happiness hard to describe. Later in the service, they were invited to come forward for prayer and a blessing. It was a sight to see, as these dear ones filed forward humbly and respectfully and knelt at the altar. These little children showed us the way to the Father’s heart. They led us in celebrating the present moment of jumping with joy and dancing with delight in the aisles. Like the heavenly smile of a rainbow, a reminder of the beauty all around us: our hearts leapt with unadulterated joy at a glimpse, a childlike glimpse, of what heaven surely must be.
Let the little children come unto me! One hundred–busy little bodies, many barefoot, several holding hands and shyly smiling. One hundred little children, boys and girls, who once were homeless, once were hungry, once were thirsty, once were fatherless and all alone. But now, having danced in the aisles, are kneeling before their Heavenly Father in His House…“for such is the kingdom.”
Little child, lead the way!
Joyfully yours,
Marsha
Here are a few more photos from the Sunday morning service: