We had the opportunity to attend a concert this past weekend in Lexington, Ky. featuring Ms. Jessica Reedy. I remember her journey on "Sunday Best" where she was this shy girl with a mesmerizing vocal range. She could go amazingly low with her notes and surprisingly high with her falsetto. But there was something in that low range, or that valley range, that made listeners know she knew God for herself.
When she first got on stage she said that her grandmother told her she talked too much when she was performing. So Ms. Reedy relayed to the crowd, "I'm really conscious of how much I talk. I don't talk much anymore, y'all. I'm sorry...but I love Jesus. And you will know it".
While she was backstage she said that a lady said to her, "Girl, God sure has brought you a long way!" She told the audience, "I didn't even really know how to take that; I didn't know what to say". But isn't it funny how people will remind us of where we USED to be? Or, maybe, where they thought we were.
She started to sing one of her signature tunes, "Put It On the Altar". Then there was this moment when it turned into a worship experience with a melodious praise - gentle, subtle, soft...a personal moment. She sang, "Jesus...changes things! Only Jesus...". The questions of the night through song were, "What is it? Who is it? What is keeping you from God?" What a magnificent, complex set of questions. "Is it her? Is it him? What is it? Who is it?" Then Ms. Reedy issued an open and welcoming invitation for the Holy Spirit to flow...and to move - "in my home, in my job, in my relationships, in my family...". She took her time with it, too. She let everyone know, "I'm not in a rush. Are you?" She made us aware that when we ask for God to show up, we should mean it...and want more of Him.
She invited us into her personal worship experience. It was like watching the inside of someone else's prayer closet. And she did it all with a smile on her face - a genuine, sweet spirit that reminds believers that when God has done a work in us and for us - there's nothing but JOY!
She didn't sing her other signature song that talks about how God made something out of nothing, but she Tweeted the next morning, "Who would have thought he would use someone who doubted his very existence...". Right there, that "hmmmm" sound with a "well" on the end.
Oh, dearest Ms. Reedy, God's love radiates from you. The lesson learned is that God doesn't remind us where we've been, He reminds us where we are and shows us where we're going in Him. You reminded me, personally, when I know for myself that God has brought me a long way, whatever road I've traveled, His way is the only way, the best way...the blessed way! Thank you for the worship experience!
Take a listen to this woman of God:
Study Scripture:
Psalm 103:12
as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Photo credit: www.gospelnewsroom.com
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