By Pastor Nissa Peterson
Chatfield and Root Prairie
Lutheran Churches
One of the great joys of being a pastor during the summer is participating in trips with our young people. I want to share a particularly meaningful story from a trip a few years ago.
On the second to last night of our mission trip to the Duluth, Minn., area, our group joined for supper with two other groups who were staying and serving nearby. Between the groups, we had 48 people to feed on the beach of Lake Superior. I built two drift wood campfires, and we set up for 48 people to cook and eat brats, potato salad, fruit salad and dirt pudding.
That story in itself is great – three groups together, eating a meal, and playing on the beach. I was really proud of how smoothly the process went with everyone getting fed in a reasonable time.
But that wasn’t the whole story! Just as the last few people were starting to cook their brats, the rain clouds we’d been watching travel across the water finally arrived at our beachside kitchen. And let me tell you – it RAINED HARD. Your instinct in a heavy rain is to scatter for shelter – but we were a mile from the nearest building, and 200 yards up a bluff to the pavilion at the campsite. We had nowhere to go, and nothing we could do to control this situation.
So we got wet. We huddled together to stay as dry as we could. We stood by the fires (which were not deterred by the rain, thankfully) to stay warm. And blessedly, the rain ended after a few minutes, and the sun returned.
That’s part of the experience of being in the wilderness – you cannot escape the weather. You cannot isolate yourself from the wonder of God’s creation! We were humbled by God’s presence in the rain, the waves, the fire, and the friends willing to get wet so others could hide behind them. Our experience on the beach was capped by worship together, once the rain had passed, and a stunning double rainbow faded. We joined in song, prayer, and some silliness, together in the presence of God.
After the chaos and joy of feeding 48 people on the beach, and worshipping together, I took a moment of peace for renewing my own spirit. Busy with the preparations for the meal, I didn’t swim in the lake earlier in the day – but I had my heart set on doing so. When the students returned to the pavilion for more games and songs, I spent a joyous 20 minutes floating on Lake Superior. I watched the sun set. I dug my toes into the sand. I laughed as the waves bobbed me up and down.
God showed up this day through fire, rain, friends and song. God shows up to us in our own lives in a whole variety of gigantic and tiny ways, too. Where do you see God show up for you this summer?
Peace, Pastor Nissa