Praise as an everyday rhythm

I pulled the car over as the glee built within me. The boys were already cheering from the backseat, clapping their young hands together.

I considered getting out of the car to get closer to the source of our excitement, but thought better of it, lest the homeowner call the police or something. I rolled down the window, though, and we all burst into cheers of, “Yay, God! Good job!” We cheered as if our favorite team had just won the tournament.

The source of the joy? Early autumn leaves had begun to undress their green and reveal their stunning true colors in our area just weeks before. Here before us stood the most stunningly, crimson tree, fully ablaze like a flame. It evoked such praise in us we had to offer thanks to the One who thought it up and then made it.

The back story to this practical praise

The practice of clapping for what God did started several years prior.

Having not been raised in a Christian home, yet as a contemplative, over-thinker, I was in awe from a young age of all the beauty in nature. The autumn trees, along with the scent of the ocean, the wildflowers on the road, the inky night sky. I was fascinated by it all. Yet without knowing their Source, I just continued to wonder.

When my atheistic thinking gave way to the Truth, I was slack-jawed at the beauty God created in a fresh way. As a young mom, I knew I wanted to instill that awe in my son and give him an outlet for the praise it evoked. This began our ritual of clapping for God.

I would reason with them that if they couldn’t make that sunset, or that flower bloom or that ladybug then shouldn’t we clap for the One who did? We cheer for far lesser things in our lives, so why shouldn’t we cheer for the miracles of creation?

It was an easy sell to encourage a toddler to clap loudly and praise God with shouts of joy. His little brother joined in the praising shortly after and the three of us would take midday walks and be found clapping for the formation of a caterpillar, cheering for the crunchy leaves, or shouting “good job, God!” over the bright, early evening moon in the sky. As the boys grew, they would shout, “Mama, come praise God for the sunset.” Or “Mama, look at this moth God made, let’s clap.” Precious memories.

The years passed, the boys became men and the clapping quieted. It was clearly less “cool” to clap loudly in random moments. Although sitting along on a flight to Colorado a couple years ago, I found myself golf clapping as the Rocky Mountains came into view of my tiny airplane window. I was overcome with praise and it had to get out somehow. I whispered, “Good job, God,” under my breath with joy.

I’m not the only one marked by this practice of praise. Just recently, my firstborn called while driving home from work, “Mama, look at the moon tonight, it’s huge!” My husband and I stepped outside and were greeted by the brightness of a full harvest moon. Still on the phone, I said aloud, “Well that is a good job, God!” And my precious peeps humored me and praised their God with loud clapping.

Meet Mariel Davenport

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Begin Within is a series to inspire a year-round lifestyle of gratitude that will impact not only your own life, but the lives of your neighbors as well. Gratitude is a theme we talk about often around here because it ties so closely into other missional living rhythms. Practicing gratitude reminds to keep our hearts soft and expectant and our eyes open. Therefore, the more we embrace gratitude, the easier it becomes to truly see our neighbors and where we can join what God is already doing in our neighborhoods.

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