He is better.
the only sound, in my opinion, that rivals the rolling ocean waves is rushing wind through a forest of pine tree's.not the little soft winds that kind of make a whooshing sound - like whispers in the tree's;but the kind that spills down from the ominous clouds, with powerful, rushing wind...the kind that makes you wonder and scratch your head at how the pine tree's can still be standing upright.it's just a beautiful, awe-inspiring sound.that's where I was this weekend.amidst the rushing wind.
it didn't happen until the very last bus had left the rainy campground...echo's of the last song "He's standing in glory, and He is my treasure, my God He is better..."the sun came out for a nano-second, and you could see blue skies...ben made the comment that when you stood still the clouds moved so quickly past that it looked like a time-lapse video in real life. :)and then the winds came.I stood still and put my back to the wind, looked up at the barely moving forest and smiled.you could see the thick fog and storm rolling in from far over the mountains,the gentle rain started to turn into soft snow flurries,my hair wisped around my face from under my hood,my cheeks were cold from the loud and powerful wind,and I was happy knowing full well that that moment was for me.my moment of peace that I so look forward to each year came faithfully back one again. :)this same God that made the rushing wind of Williams, arizona is the same God of Isaiah:
"I saw the Master sitting on a throne—high, exalted!and the train of his robes filled the Temple.angel-seraphs hovered above him, each with six wings.with two wings they covered their faces, with two their feet, and with two they flew.and they called back and forth one to the other,Holy, Holy, Holy is God-of-the-Angel-Armies. His bright glory fills the whole earth.the foundations trembled at the sound of the angel voices, and then the whole house filled with smoke."
I know that if I had read that before this weekend, my inner-church-girl would have glazed over that assuming God's awesomeness.but you know what they say when you assume? ;)I'm thankful that one of the questions that paul challenged us with was:is your view of God "dumbed down"? do you treat God like an ipod? personalized to your own preferences?I know now that my response should be one that looks similar to Isaiah:"I. Am. Undone."he says "undone."in a world where we don't like to come undone (I don't even think that is a normal phrase people say nowadays.)undone is not controlled, undone is not dignified, undone is desperate, undone doesn't conjure up thoughts of living in freedom.undone.when was the last time I was "undone" over the knowledge of who I am and more importantly who HE is?the very next part in Isaiah was of this God forgiving him and declaring him clean.can you believe that?!this God that was FILLING the temple with His awesomeness,this God that had GINORMOUS angels over His head declaring his awesomeness to the point the the temple felt like an earthquake,the same God that made all of this:this God declared him clean.and the very next question that roared in Isaiah's ears amidst the loud "holy, holy's" was:
"whom shall I send to this people:who hear, but never understand;who see, but never perceive;whose hearts are calloused;whose ears are dull;who close their eyes at all of this?"
and I smile thinking of how small Isaiah must have seemed at this awesome display of the God of the universe,and then having the where-with-all to say out loud:
"here I am...send me."
a simple, small man...telling this God he was ready to do His work.as I stood in that rushing wind, undistracted by life, simply taking in His awesome creation,I knew with resolve that I wanted to be like that small man standing in front of God.clean and ready to do whatever it is He has for me.open hands.He is better.