the church

When you go looking for God, where do you search? Do you look for God in church?

This little church stands off of a busy highway. As I walked the 30 feet or so from my truck, I walked into a quiet stillness. In this stillness, the sound of the wind was broken only by the sound of birds singing.

I made my way to the front door. When I approached, I felt the presence of the Spirit of a community of faith. ...The community who built this church and worshipped within these walls. The walls of the church gave up the songs of worship they had absorbed in years past. I heard Alleluias and Amen! Then, as my heart listened, I heard a soft chorus of Amazing Grace. How sweet was that sound!

I wished that I could have met some of the folks who worshipped in this place. How I longed to sing with them a few verses of Amazing Grace. They must have had some powerful prayer in this place. This holy and sacred space away from the hustle and bustle of life.

Something beckoned me to the back of the property, the area just beyond the neatly cut grass. There in the thicket of ferns and palmettoes was a little cemetary. I felt that these resting souls had heard my prayer. They heard my admiring feelings about their little church and their profound faith.

I gazed at the grave markers reading each name. As I read the names, I lifted prayers on their behalf. And, I lifted thought and heart conversation to the folks resting there among the ferns. Before leaving, I asked them to pray for our world and to pray for me.