Church Outside

Today I think that God wanted me to have church outside, so that’s exactly what I did.  And when I say outside I don’t mean the space between two buildings that you have to traverse to get to your car, to the store, to your house, to work, or where ever you are going.  What I mean by that is outdoors outside; in creation.  Experiencing nature, getting rocks stuck in your slip- on flats because you didn’t think it was going to be that kind of Sunday today.  

Let me back up for a second to give some background. Today, like every other Sunday for the past 3 weeks, I woke up, showered, put on some clothes, and left for church.  What I didn’t expect was that today was Pastor Appreciation Sunday in a church that I still don’t know anyone and didn’t feel comfortable chit chatting with the members who I have only exchanged “good mornings” with.  I’m not pointing any fingers at them; I just don’t know them… yet.  So from this uncomfortable situation I decided to duck out and go home.  But while I was driving I knew that if I were to go home I would begin to get to work to prepare for Monday’s class and that something about that wasn’t quite right.  I needed to spend time with God, One on one.  It was Sunday after all. 

And so while I was driving back, one of those brown park signs caught my eye.  Something inside of me reacted to that sign and I quickly exited from the interstate (not necessarily in the safest fashion) and made way for that park. 

When I arrived at the park, I knew that God had sent me here.  It had been a rough past few days, not for any particular reason; just going through another one of those seasons of change.  I know, and God knows, that I always feel closest to Him when I am in His Great Outdoors.   In, what I like to call, His glory and splendor that is evident in the works of His hands which are best examined in their natural habitat.

God lead me to this place to work through some of the worries and thoughts that have been running rampant in my head.  He even found a small forested area in the middle of Sioux Falls for me to walk with Him and talk with Him about how life is really going.  I sincerely believe that God made that park with its wonderful nature trail for me.  He knew that this strange Sunday would come during a time when life just is a little too chaotic for my taste, and that I would need to take this walk with Him and that this trail would comfort me.  I felt Him in the fall breeze and in the early morning warmth of the sun.  I saw His face in the people who were also enjoying His creation.  I knew, that in that moment, this was for me.

 It may seem sort of selfish to think and say that at first glance, but the truth is that God loves us all in that same way.  He may have made me a trail in a park in the middle of the biggest city for miles, but He has made something completely different for you.  God knew that a forested path was what I needed but you may need something else.  It could even be something as simple as a smile from a stranger or something as big as month long trip to Europe.  He knows what you need, and if you just open your eyes, you will see that you have it already.  

I know not everyone enjoys the "great outdoors" as much as I do, but if you can, even just once, try taking a walk with God and experience His creation for yourself.  You may be surprised what you find and what He has to say.