This past Monday i had a chance to attend a bible study. Little did I know it was going to be an all-ladies Beth Moore Bible Study. Wait, let me preface this with saying that i was invited to this by several friends. It's not like me to randomly crash girl bible studies. Well...so the bible study starts at 6:30pm and because church is so close i leave around 6:15. When i get closer i realize that parking is going to be nuts. There's this huge line of cars waiting to get in. I make a right into the street where the church is located but all the lots are full. Thank God...i can just play it off as if i couldn't find a parking spot. So i pull out of my phone to call my friend and be like "Hey, i don't think i can find a spot. I guess i'll meet up with you...." All of the sudden the crossing guard flags me into the nearest parking lot. Awesome. I'm pulling into a parking lot filled with soccer mom cars and i'm thinking "this is crazy Justin. What did you get yourself into now?" I park and get out of the car and immediately find myself swarmed admist handbags and smelly lotion. I follow several thousand ponytails to the church where i'm trying to play it off like i'm there for basketball (but i have this bible in my arm - good one). I get inside and i start frantically calling for my friend. I don't want to be that guy who walks into a girls bible study looking for a bunch of girls. Haha...sounds shady enough. So imagine this...before i get to the door of the sanctuary (First Baptist Church mind you) i hear music going off and i open and bam! it hits me...biggest mistake of my life. I scan the room and there's like 20395810 women there and i'm "that guy" who decides to attend. Thankfully my friends find me right when i get there and thankfully they're sitting relatively high and thankfully i'm invisible (wait, not the last one).
We find our seats and the extremely charismatic worship leader (who looks like Wanda Sykes) is just getting after it. I look around and all these thoughts are going through my head. My first thought was "I wonder if these women are uncomfortable with men here?" I mean, granted i'm not the only guy (thank God) but this is a women's bible study. Surely one of them are thinking "Uuggg, what is he doing here?" But after that thought subsided i just look around at the worship atmosphere and at that moment something came over me. I realize that in heaven, there is a mix of worship - women, men, and angels. But for me to close my eyes and just listen to a chorus of women...i can't wait till that part in heaven when the flying worship leader says "alright ladies...it's your turn". There's something different and i can't explain it. Phrases like "daughters of God" begin to form in my mind and it's pretty awesome. Then i realize that they're doing like this 9-part harmony to Amazing Grace. I was like "yeah...you don't hear this when men sing (well maybe with Boyz II Men)"
I'm still just looking around at what is going on and i spot this one section. The section that i always love to look out for in big worship events. It's the section for the deaf folks i think. They're always near the front and there's always one lady signing to them. I'll tell you why i love looking at this section. They look really happy. I mean you'll find men/women during worship and they'll look like they've had the worst day ever but when you look at this deaf section they're genuinely worshipping. Because i don't think you can fake this stuff you know? You don't hear anything so something inside of you must be churnin'. But what gets me all the time is the thought that in heaven...when that day comes when that section is before the throne of God...and when the heavens begin to worship...they hear it. It blows my earthly mind. For all the years of silent worship in their minds and hearts...now they'll finally be able to hear it! To shout it out with a chorus of people in mighty praise.
