Preparing for Worship – Leigh Curl, pastoral resident.
When was the last time you got lost? Not lost in the sense of losing your way or the feeling of dread when you don’t know where you are or what you are doing, but when was the last time you lost yourself in something? Maybe you became lost in a daydream, a book, a song or any number of things. How did it feel to let go and let yourself be lost?
I frequently lose myself in songs. One of my favorite things to do is to get lost driving on back-country roads with my windows down and the music turned up. There is a beauty to getting lost like that. There is an incredible sense of wonder as you let the music wash over you and the wind whips through your hair. For those few moments that you let yourself go, you feel incredibly free.
Before COVID, I would regularly get lost in worship. I might be standing on the chancel singing a hymn with all of you and I’d lose myself in the words and the sounds of all our voices raised in praise together. I might be sitting in the pew and get completely lost watching the deacons serve communion, in pure awe at the love and care they put into sharing the body and blood of Christ with each person in the sanctuary. I like to think
it was the Holy Spirit enveloping me and urging me to get lost in it all.
It’s sad for me to admit, but I don’t really get lost in worship anymore. Each Sunday as I sit on my couch and watch the service, I just don’t feel that same sense of wonder. I’ve lost my sense of wanting to let myself go and get lost. I rarely feel enveloped by the Spirit and it’s become harder and harder for me to feel the Spirit’s urgings because of all the distractions in my home. I miss getting lost.
As you prepare for worship this morning, I invite you to get lost in it. Put away the distractions and be present. Open yourself up to the Spirit’s urging, let the Spirit envelop you and lead you to wonder. Let yourself go and get lost for a while.