Happy August! August is the eighth month. It is named in honor of Emperor Augustus. The word “August” means inspiring awe or admiration; majestic.
The first night in our new home, we sat on our deck enjoying the sunset. That was a wonderful treat! We did not realize we would get the blessing of watching the sun set. It was awesome! After the sun went down, we got another treat—stars! In Aberdeen, it was fairly rare to get to see the stars because the marine layer would begin rolling up the Harbor every afternoon. By nightfall, we would have a thick cloud coverage that would wait for the sun to burn it off the next day.
While we were taking in the beauty of the sunset and the emerging stars, we couldn’t help ourselves and broke out into song! (Maybe you know it too. It is a 1964 tune written by Ralph Carmicheal):
In the stars, His handiwork I see.
On the wind He speaks with majesty.
Tho’ he ruleth over land and sea, what is that to me?
‘Til by faith I met Him face to face
and I felt the wonder of His grace!
Then I knew that He was more than just a God who did not care,
that lived a way out there.
And, now He walks beside me day by day.
Ever watching o’er me lest I stray,
helping me to find that narrow way.
He’s everything to me!
If August is a time for inspiring awe and admiration, a time of majesty, then I encourage you this month to look for God’s handiwork in your life. Sometimes it is REALLY hard to see! Life to us feels like a jumbled up, tangled mess, but then we get those amazing glimpses of how God’s hand has been present all along, creating something beautiful in spite of us! This is grace—that God cares about us, walks beside us day by day, ever watching over us, leading us and guiding us.
August 22 is the 20th anniversary of my ordination as a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. This milestone provides me an opportunity to look back with wonder upon these years of ministry in Christ’s church (and, yes, sometimes I did wonder if I was going to last this long!) and give thanks—give thanks for how God is always present in the midst of the mess and in the midst of the wonder, for how we as broken people gather together to share in the body of Christ broken for us, and for how we are sent out to share the love we have received with others.
This August, let us be intentional to look for and expect to see God’s face. Let us listen and hear God speak with majesty. Let us feel the wonder of God’s grace. And let us remember, God is everything to us.
God’s blessings,
+ Pastor Beth