As children, we are taught to raise our hands to be called on to answer a question or to volunteer for a task. This is one of many things of this world that are different in God’s kingdom. God has already called each of us, he didn’t wait for us to volunteer!

As a Catholic, I wasn’t raised around much praise music, just what we sang at Mass. It wasn’t our practice to raise our hands. When I became a Youth Minister and started listening to praise and the contemporary Christian genre of music became popular, I would go to concerts or attend ecumenical meetings and people would raise their hands in praise. This took me by surprise at first and sometimes made me uncomfortable; but then I felt the desire to raise my hands too.

I’ve never been one to do something just because everyone else was doing it, not a rebel, just want to be honest with my expression of feelings. Now, I have no problem raising my hands in praise to shout out to God and sing my love and adoration up to the heavens! God called me long ago and now I’m willingly raising them up high!