Heaven Came Down

Few are the times in life when one can claim they have witnessed an occurrance rarely seen by man. Or at least man on Cape Cod.

Last Friday night, I was a spectator to one of the most brilliant sights mine eyes have ever seen. I was in the throes of frustration, grief, and angst. I ran to Nauset Beach which has been my sanctuary in so many times past. As I crested the top of the dunes, there lay my ocean, white caps showing pale in the half-shrouded moon, waves thundering in all their glorious rage. I was struck to the core by the beauty of uncontrollable nature and the God who has created it. I ran along the shore letting the wind whip the tears from my eyes and not caring how much my lungs burned or how high the waves crashed on my legs. I ran until the moon broke out from behind the clouds and showed her face, red with summer heat and passion. I dropped to my knees completely undone at the grandeur of my God and wondering how I could have ever doubted His sovereignty. I could not stop crying. I could not stop worshipping. I could not stop the trembling as I realized for the first time in a long time how terrifying, how utterly enormous my Lord is. The inspiration that wrote the Psalms was in my heart and I wish that I had a pen and paper so I could have written my thoughts at the moment and not days later.

When I finally left the beach, I turned my attention to the flickering sky behind me and thought I would investigate on the bayside. I remember asking God to show me just a glimpse of His glory.

I arrived at Rock Harbor totally expecting the Community of Jesus to be putting on a fireworks show. It wasn't the Community of Jesus. It was the real thing. A lightning storm of magnitude that I had never seen before was filling the sky. There was a small crowd on the beach: friends, couples, family. I sat by myself in the dunes and watched as bolt after bolt hit out to sea and every several minutes a huge branch of lightning would break through the clouds and stretch out across the heavens. Every time my heard would lurch. I had trouble keeping back the tears, my heart hurt so much from the beauty of it. Part of me wanted to share it with someone, part of me was content to sit by myself, awestruck, no need for words.

The storm continued to blow into shore and the lightening flashed increasingly brighter and bigger. The thunder made my teeth chatter. I had no idea what emotion to display. I was dumbstruck.

At last, the storm was right above the beach. I was lying on my back watching the display of infinite power and majesty. The heavens opened and the great deluge began. I ran back to my car laughing, drenched, as the storm thundered above me.

I put on "Indescribable" by Chris Tomlin on the slow ride back to my apartment. As the second verse began, "Who has told every lightening bolt where it should go," a streak of lightening flashed across the sky and left a pathway of light before my vision. I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry...so I did both. How could I ever doubt? This storm was just a tiny part of how majestic, how terrible, how infinite God is. It was so much more than a glimpse of His glory. And I am so in awe of Him.