"I went to church this morning"

I copied this from this very website last year and just thought it touched me enough that I'd post it again.

I went to church this morning.

The church I attended wasn’t awash in religious rituals. My
seat wasn’t a polished wood pew and there were no hymnals or bibles at the
church I attended. Nevertheless, the spirit of God enveloped me. I could feel His
presence.

I go to church early this time of year. This Sunday morning
was not all that different than other Sunday mornings. I was greeted by the
pre-dawn moon and stars. Silent night. All is calm. The moon lighted my way to
my seat. As I sat quietly in the dark morning allowing the cold breeze to wash my
face, the pink hint of a new day filled the sky. No artist could paint the
canvas I witnessed this morning—or any other sunrise or sunset. It was as if
God was gave me a front row seat to watch the rebirth of a new day. It was
spectacular.

The steeples of my church are not straight. There no crosses
atop them and they bend in the wind. But the steeples in my church still arch
towards the sky, as if to pay homage to their creator. They are prettier than
any man-made church steeple. I feel at home in their perch.

Though I was the only person in my church, the spirit of fellowship was strong.
The choir was wonderful as usual. I was serenaded to any number of beautiful songs by the
birds who signaled the arrival of dawn. I closed my eyes and let them sing their songs to me.
I smiled. How Great Thou Art.

As the dawn’s light opened my sanctuary to my tired, old
eyes, I slowly and quietly turned my head to and fro to see what other of God’s
creatures was in my sanctuary. The gray body of a whitetail deer materialized
out of the fog seventy yards in front of me and then disappeared back into the
sanctuary. Squirrels chattered. The distant sound of ducks added to the
splendor. I thanked God for being alive to witness the beauty of His creatures,
both great and small.

Dead leaves quietly drifted to the forest floor. As I
watched individual leaves fall and coat the forest floor with their beautiful
shades of yellow, orange and red, I was literally watching God’s natural cycle
of the Fall take place in front of me. If you haven’t sat quietly in the woods
and watched thousands of leaves fall lazily to the forest floor, you are
missing one of God’s most beautiful art shows. Go and watch this and you will
thank Him for it.

Even amongst the beauty that surrounded me, my predator
extinct was on full alert. That’s natural, the way it is supposed to be during
this season of harvest. As I slowly turned to see what was behind me, three
does cautiously picked their way through the underbrush towards me. They
sauntered directly under the tree I was sitting in. It wasn’t time to kill. It
was time to observe and learn. The time to kill and feed my family is coming
soon.

Watching the deer amble by reminded me that I had a special
invite to this beautiful sanctuary, which is their home and my Season Of
Harvest Church. I can think clearly there, have conversations with God. In this
church there is no clutter, no e-mail, no cell phone, no pagers, no one to
steal my attention. I’m at peace there. I like to be alone there with just my
thoughts and memories and rest and recharge my internal batteries.

In a mere few days, the woods will come alive with activity
of buck deer. And I will be there in this sanctuary to bear witness to it—as I
should be. To be somewhere else would be against who I am.

Something from deep inside me pulls me to Season of Harvest
Church. If you listen closely, you hear the voice of God in the wind as it
blows through leaves and the treetops. Enter quietly and be still and you’ll be
welcomed into the sanctuary where you will witness the beauty that God has
created.


- Magnum Opus