Worship on the bluff

I had seen signs posted for a Thursday evening "Worship at the Bluff" service since my arrival. They cancelled last week's due to bad weather, so I was hoping for a more cooperative nature this week. Sure enough, it was pleasant and sunny.

There were about 40 odds and ends of people who wandered over to the bluff for this short time of thinking about God. Some from the sponsoring church, some from the college, some from the community. Nothing fancy, though they did have a PA system and an electric piano which seemed a bit jarring for 'au naturel.' They sang a bit, read some Scripture, the pastor presented a short meditation, they ended.

It was a big buggy, but the lake was unruffled, a ribbony mix of light blue and silver curtained by a bit of haze. It was relaxing to hear the word of God and look out over the vast expanse of water unencumbered by unforgiving bare white walls and solid furniture. The pastor spoke of laying a solid foundation in life, using the reconstruction of the cliff as an example. I hadn't realized that they had scooped out the dirt that was near the shoreline because it was so fractured and fragile, and replaced it with 'better dirt' in order to make sure they had a solid foundation to set their big stones on to halt the erosion.

As I gazed out across the lake while the pastor spoke, it felt good to have such a vast vista. There was nothing 'set' about the scenery. The shapes and colors, while still being trees or lakes or whatever they were, remained in constant motion, leaves moving in the light breeze, birds flying across the sky, wisps of clouds slowly reinventing themselves, changing and yet not changing. Unending variety. How could one not believe in God when everywhere you look there is ample evidence that Someone with creativity and a good sense of humor put things in place for our enjoyment?

I don't know that the service was one of those internally-significant-to-my-faith kind of things. There was nothing said that struck me between the eyes, so to speak. The bigger sermon lay behind the pastor, eloquently speaking volumes about the Creator and His care for mankind.

It was over before I was ready to move on. Less than a half hour. I got up and walked over to a study fest for a class I have already taken, wanting to be there to support my colleagues, to stir up my memory, to contribute in some small way not by what I could say, but by just being there. And perhaps bringing with me some small part of the wonder of God of which I had just partaken.