Beside still waters...

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Praise the Lord! 
     Praise God in his sanctuary; 
          praise him in his mighty firmament! 
Praise him for his mighty deeds; 
          praise him according to his surpassing greatness!
~ Psalm 150:1 - 2

It has been nearly twenty years since I first sat beside this lake.  A lot has changed in those years.  Several of the people who had originally been part of the initial purchase of this property and the early planners have since died.  For me, this place has become a place where a great cloud of witnesses meet the next generation.

Have you ever encountered a place where you sense there is something more to it?  

My great grandmother's house was that way for many years.  When sitting around her dining table I would think of those who sat there before me, and the discussions they must have had.  Of wars, the depression, children being born, and family members dying.  It was a sacred center for our family.

I think that this lake also has that presence for me.  I remember sitting one morning, hearing a friend share that he just felt like God was calling him into a new kind of ministry, and that he wasn't sure how he would explain it to his friends and family.  I remember assuring him that it would be okay, and that God would bless his effort.

I remember praying with a very young person at one of my first junior camps along this lake as she lifted words of concern when she revealed that her mom was sick with cancer and she was afraid.

Even I have looked to heaven next to this lake, and asked God for clarity and direction a time or two.

I am looking forward to spending the next week here, along the water's edge, and what God will open next.

While I know not everyone can make it to join me along this lake, I do hope that you will go to the place where you are able to be with God.

Stay in God's grip!

​G. Todd Williams (c) 2017

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Dear Lord, the Psalmist reminds that You will lead us beside still waters, and to meadows where green grass covers the land.  But even among concrete alleys and steel structures, You are very real and present.  May I find a place today where I not only sense Your presence, but that it becomes a place of sacred encounters.  Amen.

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