I went to church today...

I went to church today

Last year, Suzanne and I spoke of attending going

Instead, I attended alone

Missing Suzanne, regretting it never happened

Knowing we will never attend together.

After over a year of planning

I went in search of another church

With no idea what to expect at a

Biker church

My GPS couldn’t find.

Arriving late,

I parked in the field and walked through the doors

The student who invited us last year

The first person I saw.

Taking in the other sights

A pool table,

Plywood dividing walls,

And leather jackets, each with a patch.

I followed the sound of voices

Into the sanctuary ~

A big room filled with

Mismatched chairs.

A wooden platform up front

With a black and white painting of Jesus

wearing a crown of thorns as the backdrop.

A sea of blue jeans surrounded me

as song and harmony filled the room

accompanied today by an acoustic guitar.

Sharing the stage, a keyboard, drum set and electric guitar,

evidence of a church that rocks.

No fancy thrones for the pastor here.

Instead, he sat upon a vinyl Harley stool.

The preacher took the stage

hair in a braid down to his waist,

tattoo sleeve peeking out from under his short sleeve shirt,

wearing the uniform of the day, jeans.

He began talking about Revelations

tearing up with the thought of people perishing for eternity.

In the distance, the roar of a Harley,

He interrupted his sermon,

“Call of the wild, man!”

Back to his message without missing a beat.

Getting Jesus bumps as he shared the grace and peace Jesus brings.

Silver helmets were passed around

Collecting money to do service -

Most recently, remodeling a paraplegic’s house,

Whatever is needed to be of service to the community.

Addicts, shoplifters, people in chaos

joined in worship.

All in search of something.

Tears falling freely from many,

some called to the alter,

others lifted their hands heavenward

while the rest stayed seated.

All joined together

looking for peace

as prayer was lifted up.

The end of the service brought a loud

WWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Our search of peace and grace continued.

As I walked out the door,

I knew I would be back.

Comments

WABDR: Section 1

Section 1 We end at the beginning Does it feel like this trip will never end? Epic adventures tend to last a bit longer than just an average one. So….on with our tale. We got our bikes all packed up and continued over White Pass. The first time we went over it, it was a cloudy day. Thus, the visibility of the mountains was not much. I was expecting the same on our return trip to Packwood. Therefore, it took my breath away when I saw the mountain off in the distance for the first time. The beauty was so overwhelming, I teared up. I continued to watch the mountain until I could see it no more. Soon we were in Packwood. Back where we started. After a quick breakfast at the local coffee shop, we were on our way. I may have taken a few minutes to ride the big bike first… Not too long though, because someone was ready to get moving. Jennifer had some friends that were camping at Walupt Lake, which is right on the trail for Sectio...

Aging sucks.....or does it?

Upon first thought, watching a parent age sucks. Unnoticeable at first. A bit of a stoop, some creaking in the knees, whitening of the hair. The doctor’s visits begin, as do the pills One for high blood pressure, another to thin the blood, and a handful of vitamins to top it off. The signs are there, but it is easier to see him as he has always been. My father, a pillar of strength. Until my pillar was knocked off-kilter. A simple surgery and the mortality of my father looked me square in the eye when the drugs took hold of his brain. Amidst his fidgeting and confusion, I realized…AGING SUCKS! And then….enlightenment dawned upon me….AGING IS BEAUTIFUL Wrinkles tell of smiles while silver hair speaks a life of memories. Knees creaky after years of kneeling in prayer, offering up a lap, and climbing up the stairs for one more kiss goodnight. Almost forty-eight years of memories nestled in my heart. Memories of my father. Taking us to church each Sunday Building and fixing ...

WABDR: Preparations

PREPARATIONS AND PACKING I know you are ready to hear about this epic adventure of ours. Believe me, I was ready to hop on my bike (I named her Hanaa, meaning “happiness, joy, and peace”) and go. But before one is ready to go into the Wild, preparations need to be made. Before I get into the preparations, let’s talk about the importance of naming your bike. My Shadow back home is named, Layla. I can hear you singing along to the song right now. That is exactly where her name came from, she eases my worried mind. Therefore, it was important for me to find the perfect name for the machine I would be spending the next couple of weeks with. Jennifer, my sister, had been calling it Lil Ripper. That name was not going to work for me. I saw the peace sign on the key chain and immediately started researching names meaning “peace, love, and happiness” - all necessary for life in my opinion. And I didn’t want to die on this trip. My thinking was a bit of peace, love and happiness would...

Jumpin' Off the Edge

Search This Blog