My Church......

[Seajay]

By most standards I am not considered a ''religious man''. Nope, I dont go to church. I believe church is a good thing and I believe there are a lot of good people in church. Willa goes to church some times but I can not remember the last time I was in a ''church as such''... Probably at a funeral I guess.
I do believe in a ''higher power'' and I will defend your right to believe in what ever you propose to believe in or your right to believe in nothing as it were.
I truly believe that all this did not ''just happen''. I believe it was and is controlled by a higher power than ourselves and some prefer to call this ''higher power'' God........
From here on in this writing I shall refer to this ''higher power'' as God
For myself, I have felt this Higher Power many times in my life and in many places. I ,like most of you, have traveled to many beautiful places in this world. I have stood in awe at Niagara Falls and in the Redwoods in California. In Zion and in Death Valley and wondered at the beauty of the Tee Tons and Grand Canyon and Yellowstone and the wonders of the Painted Desert or the Bad Lands.
All of us have been there and done that and, on occasion, I have been fortunate enough to just sit in silence in most of these places and feel that God was very close to me. I have stood in the mists of Niagara Falls and felt him near me and in the stone silence of Death Valley at ''Bad Water'' in the evening with on one around. I have sat and listened to the silence creep in on ''tip toes'' and settle all around me. In the giant redwoods in California I have stood deep in the trunk of one of those mighty trees and felt as small as a mouse and ''listened to the whispers'' of the forest.
At Dead Horse Point in Utah I have stood at sunrise and watched the sun chase all the shadows out of the canyon and pour sunlight over the cliff faces starting a new day. In Canyon lands I could swear you could hear ''night time'' creeping in on you. Silently slipping along on ''cat feet'', sneaking up behind you as you sit and watch the sun go down in the west.
At Muncho Lake up in Canada I could swear that God was standing no more than two feet behind me in that early morning with the sun crawling over the mountain to my east and a ''worthless'' dog named Gus asleep on my lap. I believe I have been fortunate enough to sit in his presence on more than one occasion and I have probably heard Him walking around I His Heaven on several occasions.
People ask me …..''Where do you go to church, Seajay''???
''I go to the biggest church in the world fella''
''And where might this ''Big Church'' be located Seajay???''
''Lotta places pal... The California coast line and the Blue Ridge Parkway. On the rock bound coast of Maine and the desert of Arizona. Logan Pass on the ''Going to the Sun'' road and up in Banf and in the flat lands of un-ending Texas and a thousand, thousand other places that I have stood and watched and ''listened to the earth'' and felt The Big Man looking over my shoulder.......
Some of them look at me like I am a ''nut case'' and that is fine with me. I am past the age of ''impressing anyone'' and I respect their right to believe as they see fit.
I urge each person to find your ''place'' in this world. Never be afraid to stop and sit and listen and if someone asks ''What the hay are you doing''???? Just tell them your are listening for Gods footsteps and they will probably leave you alone.
Of course this is just my opinion and I will surely respect yours...............

[Wayne M]

And to quote my wife:

"God's paintbrush is so wonderful."

[frankdamp]

My sister reckons that Anacortes is "where God goes on his vacation".