It rained like crazy on Sunday and the streets flooded. I almost lost my car to the waters on my way to church. I sprinted (o.k., I can't sprint anymore, I admit it ... I trotted ...) from my car to the worship center, and was drenched by the time I reached cover. I got the word that most of the band was not going to make it due to the flooding. Nancy (our pianist) was there because she lives a few streets down from the church. Tom (our worship pastor) was there because he, like me, was crazy enough to cross the river at Nolana. I got word that Chuck Olsen (our solist for the morning) was stalled on Pecan (which had become the new Rio Grande) and was working just to save his car. When I entered the sanctuary at five minutes till eight, there were only two people there (we usually have about 180). At the start of worship we had more people in the choir than in the sanctuary, and we didn't have very many in the choir. And to make matters worse (as if that were possible) we had a church-wide picnic planned for the afternoon! It was shaping up to be a terrible day.
And then we started worshipping. We sang. All ten of us. And as we sang more people came into the sanctuary to drip-dry ... and to worship. And the heart cries of God's people were lifted up and God heard them and came down. God was in that place. God was in that worship. And it was beautiful.
It reminded me that where two or more are gathered ... even if they're soaking wet ... God will be there. The effectiveness or worth of our praises is not in us (or in how many of us) ... it's in God! And I thank God for that!
blessings,
pastor ellis
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