Church on the Beach - A Treasured Memory

I have already written a little about my early experiences of learning I had cancer, but I have not yet recorded a precious memory and I want to do that now.

I learned I had cancer on Thursday, February 10. Ken and I were staying in downtown San Diego, where Ken was attending a conference.  On Friday, the conference was over, so we moved to the Beach Cottages on Mission Bay, a place where we had stayed a couple of times before and loved it. We moved into a room on the third floor with patio doors we could open to see and hear the ocean.  The motel complex is on the beach, with almost three miles of boardwalk just outside the gate. It is beautiful.

We knew this time our short stay there would be bittersweet, since just the day before, we had learned about the battle before us.

Although we thought about finding a church to attend on Sunday, we decided to stay on the beach, since we had so little time there. Sunday morning came, and around 8:30 or so, we decided to walk down the boardwalk to our favorite breakfast place, Kono's, which not only has great food, but also outside seating where we could eat and enjoy the ocean. But coffee first. 

We opened the gate and walked out onto the boardwalk. Directly in front of us was a church. God brought church to us! 

Around 40 or so folding chairs were set up under a tent. Bibles were placed on the chairs, and there was a pulpit and a sound system. A few people were milling around and we approached one of the men, who we learned was the pastor. He said church started in 10 minutes and we were welcome to stay. I asked what he was preaching on, and he said Philippians, chapter 4. My stomach did flip-flops, and one of my favorite passages quickly came to mind: 

6   Do not be anxious about anything,
         but in every situation,
      by prayer and petition,
         with thanksgiving,
      present your requests to God.
7   And the peace of God,
         which transcends all understanding,
       will guard your hearts and your minds
      in Christ Jesus.

A familiar passage, one repeated often, but in my present circumstances, it took on new meaning, personal and powerful.

We had time to get a cup of coffee and then found some seats and waited for the service to start. It was a wonderful service. We sang some familiar choruses; I remember one was “Here I Am to Worship,” a beautiful song of praise. Then the pastor prayed, and I mostly remember him praying that God would speak through him and that it would not be him speaking, but that God’s Word would go forth through Him. From my perspective, that’s exactly what happened. It seemed the entire message was the nearly undiluted Word of God. He reviewed the earlier chapters in Philippians and then spent extra time on the fourth chapter. I remember I closed my eyes through most of the message, and it was as if God’s Word was washing over me, filling me with His peace, His strength, His love and comfort. 

As a backdrop for the proclamation of God's Word, the sand at our feet, the vast ocean and sky, the rhythm and sound of the waves all made the whole experience unique and very special. I will always believe God brought church to us that morning on the beach to help us prepare for what was coming, to comfort us, to remind us that He is in control and we are to look to Him for help, for strength, and for peace in the midst of our trouble.

From Isaiah 55. . .

 ⁸ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
   neither are your ways my ways,”
            declares the LORD.
⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
   so are my ways higher than your ways
   and my thoughts than your thoughts.
¹⁰ As the rain and the snow
   come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
   without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
   so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
   It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
   and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. 

Praise Him!