God's Love Notes

If I, a solitary man, stand and look up to the sky, I am not able to see the end of the known universe. Even if I had access to the Hubble Telescope and had it amped a 100 times more powerful than it is, I still couldn't. Scientists and astronomers continue to plumb the depths and heights of our created order and are learning new things about all that we don't know about....

It is so easy to be caught up in how important we think we are and then are reminded of how small we truly are. This blog isn't about how bad I can make us all feel but to entertain the notion that God's love for us is larger than the known universe.

On this day as the rain settles upon the earth, I am brought to tears of sadness and then to tears of joy. You see it was about this time last year, when we received the news that mom had left this earth and left us behind to soldier on. It was a Sunday morning right between two worship services to a God that creates and defines meaning for us.

The news of someone dying is rarely welcomed. I didn't welcome mom's death that day. I still don't. But beyond that urn that holds her ashes, I have hope in the Resurrection and the truth of God's great love. It wasn't 7 months after we said our final goodbye to mom that God spoke a loud clarion call to me personally that all is well.

It was a Sunday morning. It was Easter morning of all days and as I completed three worship services that acknowledged a loving God and His eternal gift to us in the person of Jesus Christ, I looked up and saw this hovering over our town.

Yes, I know that two jets intersected and allowed their contrails to form a cross and yes I know that a cloud carried by the winds seemed to form a heart shape. Coincidence? I'm not a fan of coincidence. Never have been and never will be. As I stood there gaping upward, I must have looked a little silly. On Resurrection Sunday of all days, this image was gathered by the winds to gently speak hope, assurance, and peace into my troubled heart.

Psalm 19 -- For the director of music. A psalm of David.

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat. The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. (Psalm 19:1-10, NIV)

In the vast expanse of all that we can see and not see, there is a God who is concerned for the smallest details of our lives and will often send us love notes to remind us of the same. That voice may be heard in the gentle breeze of the ocean or the rustling of leaves on a tree. The voice may come as gentle whisper from the morning stillness or out of the roaring fury of a storm. No matter that place or avenue that God chooses to use, we can have a great assurance that we are not alone, forgotten, or destitute. April 1, 2018 was a moment I shall never forget for it was God's voice whispering down to me in the form of a cloud and jet contrails, "I love you and everything is going to be okay."

A Musing Pastor