PASTORAL PONDERINGS - September 2011

Pastor Tim

From the front of the sanctuary, I sometimes get a different view of the events – both official and unofficial – that take place during worship. At the recent wedding of Todd and Lindsay (Christy) Ozmon, I saw a set of grandparents arrive during the singing of a solo. As they took seats in the back of the sanctuary, their young grandchildren up front were notified and headed back to find them. One grandchild took her time, saw her grandparents and readily joined them in their pew. The other grandchild, however, was in such a hurry that he walked right past his grandparents’ row, even though they tried to wave him down as he passed by. Soon he found himself out in the narthex. When he saw that his sister was no longer behind him, he gave an exasperated look. But instead of returning to the sanctuary, he began to search in the library, in the entryway by the office, and all the way back into fellowship hall.

All the while he was searching for his sister and grandparents, the soloist was singing, “I Will Be Here.” It struck me how I was watching a parable of my own life. It can be so easy at times for me, who knows the promise of God to be here, to rush quickly by and miss where that promise is being fulfilled. Sometimes I can search and search for that promised loving Presence, only to discover later that God was trying to wave me down, but I was in too much of a rush to notice.

As the soloist began that final verse of her song, I saw the grandfather get up, walk back to fellowship hall, find his grandson, and give him a great big hug. So may we, in our times of anxious searching, be found by God, who is always ready to sweep us up into the arms of love.