Old Man River

On Monday I took my monthly day apart for prayer and time away with God, at an area retreat center. At noontime on those days I treat myself to lunch at a favorite restaurant of mine that has a second story overlooking the Mississippi River. I spend a good bit of the noon hour watching the river, then usually go stroll along the levee before I return to the retreat center. As I did so, I was reminded powerfully again how much a river evokes truth about God.

Standing alongside this great North American flow I realize how powerful it really is. From a distance it might seem slow, but up close you realize how much resolute force is in Old Man River. I have no clue how this massive movement originates, and I cannot wrap my mind around the vastness of how it ends. Its level might rise or it might fall, but it never stops. It might be blocked or re-routed, but it will not be denied in reaching its destination. You can see the river in front of you, and you can see as far upstream or downstream as you're able, but your eyes can't take in all of it. Sometimes it may seem raging and dangerous; other times it might seem calm, cooling, and inviting. All of it is the same river, with the same determination and focus. If you fight its flow, you're in for a battle. If you get in the mainstream of its flow, it will carry you all the way.

A lot of those characteristics describe God as I have experienced God and as God reveals God's own self to me. I wish you good travels on the river which is your life. I'll see you around the next bend.

A Birthday Gift

This year our church participated in two dynamic, outwardly focused events in our community. One occurred the Saturday after Easter, sending an eclectic gathering of over 1,000 volunteers into the community to perform a variety of acts of kindness, support, caring, and grace. The afternoon and evening continued this ministry effort around a continuous celebration of praise music and faith testimony. The second event occurred on Christmas Eve, gathering over 800 people in a local convention center for a worship celebration and to distribute Christmas gifts and food to over 600 children in need and their families. Both events came about through God's vision impressed on our church's skilled and gifted Worship Coordinator, Brad Aycock, and hundreds of willing leaders and volunteers. And each event united people of several churches, various religious affiliations and no religious allegiance, all ages, and all racial background. (We live in a wonderful town, but it is a community, like many, that has had some painful moments of division between Caucasians citizens and African-American citizens.) It has been a joy and blessing to watch events like this unfold, to see God's mighty hand at work, and to join with others in humble obedience to the mainstream of God's heart.

For most of my adult life I have kept prayer journals. Most of my prayer life, both listening for God and speaking to God, is expressed in writing. Lately I've been glossing through some journals, just to be reminded of God's faithfulness and action in the past. Yesterday, my 59th birthday, I saw these words that I wrote about dreams I'd had on August 9, 2009 while on a sabbatical retreat. In light of the paragraph above, note this entry:

" I usually forget dreams in the morning, and these two (from last night) are fading. Still, I recall enough of the sense of them. The first was a grand, positive, outdoor worship experience in Sikeston. Several things I recall about it. First, it was multi-ethnic. Second, it had the energetic and happy involvement of children. Also, I felt excited about it; eager to do my part without the constant, simmering anxiety of failure, opposition or whatever..."

I know now that God gave me a glimpse of what was to come. This was a great birthday gift. Sometimes the road can seem long, and any of us can wonder if our passion for a God-sized vision is worth it. Simply put, what God seeks, God will bring about, some way, some time.