Next Gen
GOD TRAVELS WITH US As old routines beckon, we should remember the Spirit is with us and present in any space we enter.
By Brook O’Keefe Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
A
s my slightly sunburned feet wrapped in strappy black Chacos hang off the sides of my paddleboard, I realize I haven’t been feeling very “churchy” lately. I have regularly skipped online worship and ignored Facebook invites to young adult gatherings or mission center events. Instead, I often find myself floating above resilient 3,000-year-old trees that still stand under clear water or hiking through forestgreen mountain trails on Sunday mornings. In their own way, these adventures have satisfied my spiritual hunger. This is not to say that I have not felt spiritual lately, that I have not missed the people who gather on Sunday mornings, or that there is no value in organized worship. Being able to converse and worship with the people we love each Sunday is a blessing of stability and community. Rather, it is to say that God and the divine love that he has for each of us does not reside solely within the Zoom worship space or even within our church buildings. Our God is not a recluse who lives tucked in the walls of our buildings. Our God travels with us! The mobility of the Spirit and the overwhelming presence of God’s love in every aspect of our lives is something I am often guilty of forgetting. In this busy world, it becomes easy to fall into a Sunday morning routine, going through the motions and claiming it as the spiritual center of our week: 9:45 a.m.
Wake up late, exhausted from the week
9:50 a.m.
Chug scalding hot coffee
10:00 a.m. Dress in my Sunday best 10:15 a.m. Scurry off to church 10:30 a.m. Sing, listen, and pray while barely awake
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Photo by Makenzie Cooper | Unsplash
