Ezekiel 43:2 (NKJV) offers one description, reading in part, "His voice was like the sound of many waters;"
Many waters.
Is that like the mighty roar of a waterfall, galloping over the precipice and colliding head-on with the riverbed below?
Or maybe it's like one of my favorite sounds, the soothing rush of a heavy rain that lulls me to sleep on a lazy afternoon.
We're still settling into our new digs here in Marion, Ohio, and looking for a new church to join is one of the top priorities we hold dear as a family.
Moving to Marion is one of those unexpected things that comes up in life. But that's another story for another day.
Last Sunday, we visited Berean Baptist Church. Its pastor and his wife are alumni of Tennessee Temple University, where My Smokin' Hot Wife and I went to college, so we wanted to visit and meet some fellow TTU folks.
We enjoyed the service. The congregation is friendly and Pastor Chris Peria and his wife Sonya welcomed us heartily. It was a great experience.
After the service, we enjoyed lunch at their house with their three children, two friendly dogs and a pair of pudgy guinea pigs. The fellowship was great. The kids were great. The dogs were great. The guinea pigs were ... pudgy.
Our son Joel and their daughter Emma hit it off right away. Joel is usually the life of the party wherever we go and I have the distinct feeling Emma is cut from the same cloth.
Fast forward to Friday. Joel and I were headed to pick up Mommy/My Smokin' Hot Wife for lunch when he asked me a question.
Here's how that conversation unfolded.
Joel: Daddy, are we going to church this Sunday?
I love to hear to hear my son call me Daddy. It's a warm fuzzy thing. I also love the fact that he enjoys going to church. More than anything else, I love the fact that Joel has trusted Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord.
Me: Yeah, baby. We're planning on it.
Joel: What church are we going to?
Me: I don't know, buddy. Mommy and I will talk about it.
Joel: I want to go back to that church where we went last time. I really liked it.
Me: So you want to go back even though there weren't a lot of kids there?
Berean is a small church. Pastor Chris and his family have been ministering there for a little over a year. After chatting with him last Sunday, I have the sense that there's a neat move of God afoot there.
Joel: Yes. I want to go back there. I really liked it.
Me: What did you like about it?
Joel: I really liked the teacher.
A college-age young lady taught the kids during children's church. Apparently, she made an impression on Joel. He even remembered the content of the lesson when we asked him about it after the service was over!
Joel: That's the church I think we should go to, Daddy.
He was very insistent about it.
Even before we moved to Marion in late July, we had been praying that God would lead us to a good church in the area. Our family and many of our friends joined us in this prayer effort.
I am always amazed at how God answers prayer. I have my own idea of how I would like for my prayers to be answered, and it's always wrong. That's not a bad thing, necessarily, because God is always teaching me and adjusting my thoughts and my view of Him.
God did that again on Friday after my chat with Joel.
I have often wondered what the voice of God sounds like. On Friday, it sounded like the voice of a 9-year old boy.
Thank you, Lord, for speaking to me through this beautiful little boy You have given to us nurture and train up according to Your word. Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!
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