Hanging Out with God
Photo by Linda Bobbitt
These past two weeks I’ve been in Hawaii for my father’s funeral. He died over 6 months ago, and I went to Hawaii at that time to be with my sister and stepmother. Because of COVID protocols, we had to fight to allow all three of us inside to view the body. While that was important, it wasn’t really a proper way to honor my father or offer closure to our family.
Last week’s visit was for the celebration of my dad’s life when friends and family could join us. After that time together on Oahu (where my father lived for 15+ years), my immediate family and I traveled to Kauai to spend time together. Across the street from our hotel was the beach pictured here. I went to visit and pray most mornings that week.
Most of the time, I would sit down on the sand and look at the view while my mind pondered many things – my relationship with my father, the triumphs and struggles of his life and the way he impacted my own life, relationships within my nuclear family, my work, the state of the world, etc. Sometimes it took over 30 minutes for me to be truly present in the moment on the beach feeling the sand and hearing the waves crash right in front of me. When I finally was able to tune out the distractions of my mind and notice where I was, I realized there was a lot going on.
The rocky surface on the right front of the picture appeared to be the foundation of some ancient building now reduced to steps. I wandered these steps watching tiny fish hiding under the ledges as black or white crabs popped up and scurried around between waves.
Sometimes I sat on the sand in prayer. Opening my heart to God, I asked God to draw my attention to whatever God wanted. I received whatever small objects the waves pushed up against my feet as tiny gifts from God– small floating sticks, berries from distant trees, broken parts of shells or coral… I picked them up and examined them before tossing them into the next wave to return to the ocean. Often a crab would see my offering and run to grab it. Turning it over and over in its claws, the crab thoroughly examined each object before discarding it. This became a game for us – me and the crabs. These times were lovely gifts of peace, beauty, and joy from God. What made them gifts was God’s presence in them. God nudged small treasures toward me and I threw them back to God. Crabs joined the fun of simply noticing one another and the tiny objects in the moment.
When my mind wandered, waves or some new object would call me back to the moment with the crabs, fish, and gently lapping waves. Gentle rain sometimes fell creating the rainbow you see. The cool rain called me back to the moment as well. This time spent with God was a huge gift – one my soul sorely needed. This time was spent without asking for anything or expecting anything from God, but only being alert and aware of all things. With this kind of presence, I was able to open my soul to God’s presence in each moment. Each moment, in turn, revealed itself as a gift – always present and available – ready to be perceived and cherished.
After nearly a week of this rhythm I finally discovered what it was all about.
It so happened that I had a friend who was visiting the Island with her son who lives there. My husband Rick, Barb and I met at The Lihu’e Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hawai’i on Sunday morning. It was her second time there, but first time since they got a new pastor a couple of years before. Pr. JP Paxton led worship that morning incorporating Hawaiian music and language into the Lutheran liturgy seamlessly.
The gospel text was the story of Mary and Martha. Mary is sitting at Jesus’ feet and Martha complains that she should be helping in the kitchen, but Jesus tells Martha that she should not be so distracted by many things, “there is need for only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:42)
For the children’s sermon no children were present (though some were online), so my friend Barb and were invited to join Pr. JP in front of the congregation (This is what I get for introducing myself as a deacon). He laid out two beach chairs and had us sit down. He offered us gummy candies and soda which we opened and ate and drank. Pr. JP pointed out that sometimes God just wants to hang out with us. Sure, service is good and there is work to be done, but God is more interested in our relationship with God than all the things we might do for God.
Suddenly, those quiet moments on the beach came to me. That is what God was doing – just hanging out.
If we must have a purpose in our lives, perhaps that purpose is to simply be with God. Jesus said it himself – that we are to love God, our neighbor and one another. Love doesn’t mean constantly “doing for” – it sometimes means simply “being with” – spending time engaging with one another and enjoying the very presence of the other. God had been practicing the very thing Pr. JP talked about with me on the beach that week. That time nourished and healed my soul in ways I didn’t realize I needed.
I left worship giving thanks to God for not only God’s healing presence, but also for connecting the dots in worship.
When is the last time you opened your soul to God’s presence in the moment and simply sat with it? I hope you do so soon and often. Indeed, I hope you do so regularly. This is the nourishment every soul craves. God’s presence with us is the only thing that can satisfy our soul’s hunger and thirst.
