Worship

This morning, we went to Rhett’s church for a worship service. His church probably holds about eighty people. It is simple with white walls, fluorescents lights, a plain wooden cross and a couple of podiums. I have been in some of the grandest cathedrals the world has created and felt the presence of God in all of His majesty. God was equally, if not more, present in this concrete building packed with people.

As far as the words that were spoken today, I understood VERY few, but as for the meaning of the service, I understood it all. Today is Father’s Day, and so much of the service was about fathers. A variety of ladies spoke and sang songs, children recited poems, fathers were honored and love was shared.

One of the songs we sang sounded oddly familiar. Kelly leaned over and whispered, “This is the Day,” which brought a smile to my face. When we were in high school, our families invited children from Belarus to stay in our homes for about a month. Language was a huge barrier, but one day, someone was singing “This is the Day,” when the Belarussians started singing the same tune with unfamiliar words. I guess “this is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it” are words that should be shared with all languages.

As I was sitting on the wooden pew, concentrating and trying to understand the meaning of the words being spoken, my mind began to drift, and I was reminded of another, meaningful service. My senior year of high school, we took a trip to Italy and Switzerland. We were in Switzerland, on Easter, and couldn’t resist going to a church service. About seven of us decided to go. A couple of members of the group were Catholic, and a couple spoke some French, but I had no clue as to what was going on. That did not take away from the service though. I don’t think I will ever forget the kindness and generosity of the people of that church. They were so glad to see us, so welcoming, that they urged us to participate and to eat with them.

We were treated with that same warmness today. Everyone was eager to meet us, shake our hands, hug and bless us. When lunch was served, we were the first to get our plates as the entire congregation sat crowded around a TV cheering on Brazil in the World Cup.

Soccer holds a special place in my heart, even though at home I never choose to turn in on. It was the only sport I ever really played, and I loved every minute of it. From fifth grade when I was one of four girls on the team and one of the boy’s mom taught us how to “take care of” the boys to high school games all around the state when Terry, the bus driver would humor us and let us play loud, girly music. On my first trip to Europe, my parents and I enjoyed watching games on TV, because there was no need to understand what was being said. We saw riots break out in the streets when Italy won that year. Then, on my latest trip to Europe, we spent many evenings sitting in squares watching matches on giant screens and cheering for who those around us were cheering for. It seems that while we are here, I should cheer for Brazil.

This afternoon we were able to watch as two boats made their way through some of the locks on the Panama Canal. Wow! The process was truly incredible, but what amazed me more was thinking about ALL of those people who made this possible. One hundred years ago, people from all over the world came here to build the canal. Imagine their strength, courage, and determination!

Today was an incredible day! Despite not being able to understand many of the words that were spoken, I know I felt God’s presence, and I think I understood the meaning of it all. Although, I still need to ask why fathers are eagles and not ducks.