I Went Down by the River to Pray
Wednesday, August 15, 2012 Posted by Katie
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In my single years, I once took a weekend trip to Lake
Superior to escape my new and overwhelming home of Chicago. I needed to get out
of the metropolis and back to nature. I brought my dog. We walked along the
shore of the biggest lake I had ever seen and had a rejuvenating chat with God.
I finally found my Chicagoland groove when I settled in
Evanston…where I was able to run or walk along Lake Michigan any old day I
chose. God and I had a lot to talk about on that trail.
In the shadowy days following the time I lost my job years
ago, I sat with my sister and some close friends at the convergence of the
Mississippi and Ohio Rivers in Cairo, Illinois. My sister had given me a book
to read: “Always Enough” by Heidi Baker.
Within weeks of reading Heidi’s words of God’s provision, I
sat next to a stunning ice-blue lake in Glacier National Park in Montana. I had
been hired by Youthworks in what would be one of the most life-changing jobs I
had ever had the privilege to hold. I had a little chat with God about
gratitude right there on the shore.
Years later, my husband Phillip and I walked along the
shores of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Twenty-four hours before-hand, we
had discovered that I was pregnant with our first child. We walked, wondering
together with God how our lives would unfold. A couple of years after that, my
son took some of his first steps on that same stretch of beach.
Powerful awe-inspiring moments.
If you have been reading my posts of late, you’ll know that
my life runs at break-neck speed. I haven’t had lovely walks by rivers, lakes
or oceans lately. I’ve been catching God on the fly. I sure miss our long
leisurely chats.
God did too apparently. A few weeks ago, I found myself alone
on the last night of a business trip to San Francisco. Through a crazy set of
circumstances, one of our clients “knew a guy” who arranged for me to spend my
last night in town aboard a three-hour,
four-course dinner cruise around the bay, compliments of the owner. Live music.
Candles. Great food. Pen and journal in hand. Jesus and I watched the sun set
behind the Golden Gate Bridge. It restored my soul.
I often wonder if David walked along shorelines chatting it
up with the Almighty. He sure seemed to know a thing or two about intimacy with
God when he wrote truth like…
“…he leads me beside
still waters. He refreshes my soul.” – Psalm 23
“…he will be like a
tree planted by streams of water, that brings forth its fruit in season, whose
leaf does not wither.” – Psalm 1
May God bless your life with the ageless truth that rest and
restoration are yours when you walk along the shoreline of the Living Water. Amen.
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