HELPING EACH OTHER GET TO HEAVEN

It's rainy and muggy today, one of those mornings when the clouds can’t decide to gently wring themselves out or purge in the form of a downpour. After a very hard and humid week, the baked ground is thankful for the moisture and reprieve from the burning sun. It is Sunday and we had volunteered to give the sermon this morning. Luckily for my husband and I, we were protected by the roof of the large pavilion on the church grounds built for this specific purpose.

Every Sunday during the summer months, a few willing souls in the congregation plan an early morning outdoor worship service. It is much more relaxed than the traditional service, and we can choose the music we want and the prayers to be prayed. Out behind the church building is a plot of land designed to be secluded and private, way down in a gully surrounded by a forest on all three sides.

Positioned amongst the beautiful garden of flowers and all forms of vegetations and under a canopy of trees, we stand beside a wooden cross hammered into the ground and before a makeshift wooden pulpit facing the congregation, who have brought their own lawn chairs in which to sit and listen. Our own little amphitheatre, these hardy souls minister to the birds, the deer and each other for 8 weeks at 8:30 am. After Labor Day and when the air turns cool, we return to the church for the “normal” indoor 10 AM service.

But it is raining this Sunday morning, and we are forced to use the concrete slab of the pavilion, somewhat more sterile, but no less spiritual. We all stand together and listen for a moment as we enjoy the rain and the cool breeze it brings before beginning the service, watching the rain cascade it sheets all around us. It is more beautiful than we would have imagined and could not have planned it any better. We thank God for the beautiful day, to be together, and for all the needed rain.

We both follow a book of prayers and the sermon we speak comes from each of our hearts. Although the pavilion is only half full, it is still received with the spirit in which it is given.

More often than not, my beloved and I worship from the backyard on our deck, overlooking the lake and reading from a scripture book. But it is nice to be able to look into the faces of those whom we love and who revel in hearing the word of God read aloud.

The service is short, only 30 minutes long; its just long enough to fill us all with what we need and what we want to share with them. The sermon is entitled “Helping Each Other Get to Heaven” and one of us cries as we tell our stories.

I thank God everyday for the life I have now, and look forward to every day thereafter, whether it be filled with cascading rain or abundant sunshine. I remind myself yet again, to never take this for granted.