Emphasis Preaching Journal

From Palo Alto we had driven south through great mountain ranges of California and then through some of its vast desert land. We continued into Socorro and Albuquerque, New Mexico, where we felt blessed by the Indian ambience. Then easterly we drove on I-40 through Amarillo and Oklahoma City. We crossed the Texas panhandle and arrived in Fort Smith, Arkansas, on a cold and nasty-rain Saturday night, so cold and nasty we didn't even try to find dinner. The mountains' beauty, the cultural history of the west, and the grand sweep of land with sky and water and wildlife had stirred our imaginations for several days and had satisfied a hunger for the sight of greatness and the feeling of greatness, greatness by God and greatness by humanity. Even the nasty rain had spoken to us; we reveled in the greatness of the nasty wind and its partner the rain. But then came Sunday morning. The weather was blowing its snow-bites into our faces as we pushed ourselves along the yet-
dark streets seeking and finding a church. Once inside we found simplicity and quiet. We breathed a richness which was other than the richness of great nature. We felt this new touch must have come from the Eternal. The Word of God was read and proclaimed, psalms and hymns were sung, prayers were said, and the sacrament of the Lord was shared. Things happened to our insides which all of nature had not done. Our deepest selves, our innermost selves, our very souls had found nurture. We had turned our attention from some very good things and focused ourselves upon the heart of God himself. -- Hoornstra