As I was making the 10-minute drive to church this morning, an amazingly gorgeous dawn was at its peak. A couple of cardinals flew in front of my car. As my eyes followed them, they flew past an owl sitting in a tree by the road. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a real, live owl hanging out in nature before! I drove a little farther, and a deer on my right paused before disappearing in a flash of white tail. As the road meandered between two lakes, I saw the sunrise in all of its glory. I pulled into a parking lot overlooking one of the lakes, to be able to spend a few moments looking fully at the sky and water. Before I had even arrived at church, my soul had been touched by the beauty of God’s world.
At church, the choir presented their Christmas cantata at two of the services. The music and readings were powerful, and I loved sitting back and allowing the music to convey the message of good news. At the contemporary service, the band did a great job in playing both familiar and new Christmas songs. “Witness,” a women’s musical group, sang songs with incredibly tight harmonies and sweet voices.
So often, weekend worship feels like something for me to make happen. Whether or not people experience God in a new way seems up to the worship service I plan or the words I speak. Today, I was reminded that God moves in times and places that might have little or nothing to do with my own effort. Wildlife, a sunrise, music. All of these things have opened my heart to God today, and there was nothing I did to earn it. There’s a church-y word for these types of things: Grace. And for that, I am thankful.
