Yours is the Kingdom…

I recently had a conversation with someone where we were comparing big cities, the activities, and things that you can do there, and we concluded, “They are all the same.”

You experience good eats, you sit at a rooftop bar or nice restaurant. You enjoy live music, etc., but after you have done this enough, it is all the same.” I proceeded to say, ” This is why I love to get outside and enjoy nature. Nature is full of endless possibilities.”

I had another conversation recently, and they asked me, “What is there exciting to do in Bartlesville?” I said “Nothing. There is nothing exciting in Bartlesville; we just enjoy the simple things.”

Easter Sunday was beautiful. I drove to work at Bartlesville First United Methodist Church, and the sun was just rising. The sky was full of color; the sun was giant and orange, and I was mesmerized.

I led two services with amazing musicians and singers, and we served hundreds of people and helped facilitate a meaningful Sunday morning experience for them.

After, I joined my chosen family for a meal, games, an Easter egg hunt, lots of laughs, trying to get one friend to like country music, lovin’ on all our children, and a soccer game in the backyard where we laughed and chanted “Ole’ Ole’, Ole’ Ole’” when any team scored.

We watched the unathletic and the soccer  stars get out there. The moms and the little ones all laughing, falling, and soaking in the April 5th Sunday evening Sunshine. I decided not to play, but wrapped up in a blanket, cheered, chanted, and laughed. The simple things.

Working as a musician and singer in a spiritual space for so long, these big Sundays are very emotional for me, and yet I am prepared for the “ride.” I pour my whole self into what I bring and offer to my community, and I feel it all. The deep satisfaction and the depletion.

Needing to work these emotions through my body, I decided to end my day with a walk around Lee Lake. The sun was setting. And that huge orange sun I had seen that morning rising in the East as I drove to church, was now setting in the West.

I started my walk around Lee Lake, headed East with the sun at my back, as I rounded the first curve, the sky had started to transform. As I saw the view of the West, I said, “Wow” out loud and took a few pictures.

I continued to walk and met a bunny that was eating its dinner, how fitting.

I continued on and came across fields of dandelions, the pink sky above them reflected onto their translucent white feathery seeds, and they looked pink. I took a few more pictures.

I came around the lake and decided to do one more lap. Again, headed East with my back to the Western sky, I walked and took in the silence of the evening. As I rounded the curve again and as my eyes saw the Western sky, “I gasped.”

The change that had occurred in just 10-15 minutes was literally breathtaking. The sky was full of purples, pinks, salmon, coral, and blues. I looked at it and thought to myself, “All my favorite colors on one palette.” If I hadn’t done the extra lap, I would have missed it.

I tried to capture it, and my phone could not do it any justice. I had to stand and watch as the lake reflected the color palette the sky bestowed upon it, and as I drank in all my favorite colors, it almost felt like it was painted just for me.

This is what I want for you, my dear, to find IT.

To walk in it.

To explore it.

To breathe it.

To experience it with every fiber of your being.

Peace.

I know you want it too, the depths of your soul. I know your body, your mind, and your heart are longing for it.

And it is there, it is right there, my dear.

No thrilling or entertaining experience will produce it, no amount of money can buy it, no job can create it, and there is no food or substance that can sustain it.

It is a way of life that we must cultivate. It is a posture. It is eyes to see, ears to hear, and hands to hold that which is RIGHT in front of you. The simple.

It is a commitment to and the acceptance of what IS.

It’s approaching life with curiosity, gratitude, appreciation, and love, great LOVE, for the wonder of the complex, magnificent, beautiful, and the simple and insignificant that lies before you.

A majestic sunset  or a tiny bunny . A sanctuary full of hundreds of people and a backyard of friends in bare feet. 

It is completeness, wholeness, soundness, tranquility, and to experience fullness and satisfaction within ourselves. A spiritual posture that will “bring health and life to your body and nourishment to your bones.” Proverbs 3:5-7

Don’t miss it, my dear, it is all around you. It is inviting you in, a sanctuary in the middle of a barren land, in a lap around Lee Lake, or at a dinner table with friends. Yours is the Kingdom of “heaven”, but very few find it.

With you as we walk the narrow way towards abundant life, health, and peace.

From me  to yours