Matthew 19:14
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 

One day while serving in a children’s ministry during worship, the Holy Spirit said, see how your arms are folded. What are you protecting? Why do you hold on to yourself? Let go and be You. I didn’t know what He meant until I saw the image in my mind of my granddaughter and me dancing and worshipping the Lord the evening before. He then told me to look around, and when I turned, I observed everyone holding themselves, even the teachers, standing with their arms wrapped around themselves. This was scary because I was new and didn’t know how anyone would respond if I reached out, but I did because I knew how oppressive it was to suffer from self-consciousness.

I remembered the word where the Lord says to do the thing in front of you with all diligence. Then, there stood a timid little girl who had just joined. She was so shy you could not hear a word she would say; I had a hard time hearing already, but she made it even harder. I reached out to her, unwrapped her little arms, and began dancing with her and twirling her around. I was so blessed when I saw her fear fall from her like chains! She was laughing, dancing, and having so much fun, but what was so much more beautiful was when all the leaders and children began to dance and lift their arms, I saw Jesus in my mind clapping and smiling with joyful tears pouring from His eyes as He watched His babies coming to Him free and alive just as they are; themselves!

Afterward, because this precious little lamb was in my group, I appointed her to welcome every new child and be their friend for the day. She was so happy to do this and did it with the freedom the Lord gave us that day, free to be who God created us to be.