My Friday morning started off this way....woke up an hour before I needed to, then I walked into my kitchen and in the 8 steps that it takes to go from my bedroom to the kitchen, something awful hit me. My house was a mess. Not a small mess either. But the kind of mess that makes you sigh, scratch your head and wonder how you’ll get it all done when your list of things “to do” for the day did not include cleaning the house. Then I realized that the sniffles had made themselves present to my roommate and I. We were tired and worn out. Yet, the next thing that popped into my mind brought a huge, ear to ear smile to my face. It was the start of my great weekend in Tahoe with some amazing people. Today, this very morning, despite the mess and the sniffles, my heart was FULL. It is a wonderful, almost indescribable feeling to have your heart feel full. But just so we’re on the same page about how my heart felt that morning, here is what Webster’s has to say about the word…
“Full” by definition is being completely filled; containing all that can be held, filled to utmost capacity. I would even go so far to add that full by definition means full to “overflowing”…
Overflow by definition is to flow over, flood, inundate.
For me, these two words, (overflow and full) have been hiding in my heart for a few months now. And as we came together this weekend worshipping the Lord, these two words did not disappoint. I literally felt the fullness and overflow of worship in its purest form. It filled the room to capacity. The sweet fullness that only comes when we, corporately, truly recognize the Spirit and then together praise and exalt HIM. From the first word spoken our hearts were united. Hearts that had a great anticipation and that were quietly listening for the Spirit. It was worshipping in Spirit and in Truth…
William Temple says, “To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination with the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, and to devote the will to the purpose of God.”
Augustine says, “a Christian should be an alleluia from head to foot.”
Walt Whitman said, “After the seas are all crossed (as they seem already crossed), after the great captains and engineers have accomplished their work, after the noble inventors – after the scientists, the chemist, the geologist, ethnologist, FINALLY shall come the Poet. Worthy that name. The true son of God shall come, singing His songs.”
This weekend was truly a blessing to me. I was reminded how important fellowship is. And not just surface, almost artificial fellowship that ends with "hello". I was challenged to create meaningful relationships with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Obviously deep relationships are not created in a three day period. But it is definitely a start. Thank you to those who chose to share their stories with me. There is something special about not just being a part of such an amazing community – but to really know the people there with whom you shared such an amazing weekend with and therefore that made us not just “parts” but a whole. To know the stories of triumph, pain, loneliness, regrets, job loss, hurts and trials. To know these lives – full of brokenness and desire for more. To know we are corporately choosing to lift up our heads, our voices, and our hearts together to God. In doing so, we were all cohesively lifted. I’m sure my heart will float back down and my life will dip a little below full eventually but that is why God gives us opportunities like this weekend. I am thankful to ALL who made retreat what it was. What a beautiful, corporate effort. It can best be described with one word; FULL.
