I was absolutely bowled over today by the majesty of the abundant water in the creek at Giant City Park. Being a regular visitor to the Woods I have seen the creek bone dry. Today as it roared with its waterfalls and swift-moving streams…I could not take enough photos and short videos. I wonder what we did prior to our iPhones? So, we look forward to knowing God for ourselves throughout our lives. Now we may believe that the burden of Finding Jesus is his to bear. In point of fact God is beside us and walking with us everywhere that we walk.
Churches are at their zenith when the members of the congregation put arms and legs on the words of Christ. My friend from the United Kingdom writes about York and the Minster in that lovely city. I laughed to myself when she wrote recently about her experiences in York and I sent her the same comment that I had sent her a few weeks past. As I was writing the words I thought that sounds much like what I wrote the last time…but the memories of York and the magnificent Minster stir the same words and thoughts each time they travel through my old brain. I recall feeling as if we were in a bit of a magical and mystical place when we were in York. We literally were next to the Minster and the profound beauty of the edifice inspired me…much as the Cathedral Of Notre Dame in Paris did…when we visited a few years before.
I can feel friendless and lonely and alone…when someone reaches out to me with a kind word or a considerate thought and suddenly…I have found Jesus…once again. Our church has what is called a Laundry Project whereby members of the congregation and other kind souls provide quarters for those who may need them to purchase soap and operate the washers and dryers at our local laundry. Each time someone receives a few quarters for their real and present need of clean clothes…they see Jesus.
When we feel a bit lost and someone says join me for a chat or a cup of tea…or a listen to our thoughts…we have found Jesus…
The church is not complex…it is the simplicity of love. Money and power and political influence have been conflated with Christ…I feel that he must shake his head in wonder and disbelief. The Bible tells us that he was a friend to the friendless and that ‘The common people heard him gladly.’
The Happy Traveler 
BJ, this is a lovely post. I always felt feelings of awe when I went inside York Minster but particularly so at that All Souls Day Eucharist that I wrote about in my blog. But also, I felt an entirely different feeling just before Christmas one year when we stood at the back of a crowd of people, many dressed in jeans and trainers, who had piled in off the streets , to watch a play and hear some carols. I just felt that is exactly how it should be, and how Jesus would have wanted it. No finery, no airs and graces but just “Come as you are “. That was a wonderful experience too.
Often the most captivating encounters with Christ come in the most normal of times. The ageless promise of Christmas entering the hearts of we regular and thirsty people.
Thank you for your kind remarks and your great gift of writing!
Thank you so much BJ and thank you for your great gift of writing too 😊