I had only been at my Uncle's cottage on Georgian Bay for a couple of days and it was already time to pile back into the van and head home with my family. In hope of extending our summer getaway by even an hour, I walked down to the beach with my brother. It was probably at least 9pm and the sun was low and distant. In anticipation of a colourful sunset we waited at the water's edge; kicking up water playfully and letting the cold waves sink our feet into the sand. The sun slipped lower and lower and we sat down in the sand to enjoy the warm summer night. Colours started to follow cues and arranged themselves on the sky's stage. I remember leaning into my brother and smiling up at him. The way he smiled back told me that he was feeling it too - God was, in every way, a part of this performance.

     I can't quite remember what happened next. All I'm sure of is that God told my feet to start running and they obeyed. The sky wrapped around me, in all of its brilliance, and I might as well have been the size of one of the clumps of sand that I kicked up. Cotton ball clouds; blues and purples shifted above with shocking depth. Closer to the water the clouds were soft and pink but laced with fiery yellow. A strip of clear sky was glowing vividly magenta and orange. The water, shot with a piercing column of light, and flecks of shattered suns on the crests of waves, still kept a calm pace. The water rolled and crashed onto the sand slowly but forcefully, beautifully, pink spilling onto the glistening shallow water. The sand, for the length of the endless beach, shimmered and in the pink glow of the hour and green grasses gracefully waved in the breeze. The depth of the scene proved my senses unworthy, but that day, more than merely my knowledge of the shapes and light filled my mind- I was filled with the spirit. Knowledge failed me at that moment, understanding collapsed, nothing remained but wonder and passion and love. The perils of a lifetime dwindled before the breadth of the sky.  Time was arbitrary; space no less surreal. A breeze blew hard, soughing through the grass and rippling the water even more. My hair flew wildly; my t-shirt bounced about my body. There is nowhere I wanted to be but in that moment of sensational desire, that reckless, thoughtless, beautiful spot in space. I started to sing. Logically, as I was still running at top speed, I would have had to gasp for breath, but not this time. I sang out my heart, my soul. 

 I sang

Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty!

Holy, Holy, Holy!

Holy, Holy, Holy!

Holy is the Lamb of God!

Holy, Holy, Holy!

 There was no melody; my voice was raw and real like my exposed heart. I looked around myself more and saw the most miraculous things! The water was rising in waves to praise the Creator. The grasses were flailing in worship. The sand sparkled for Jesus. EVEN THE ROCKS CRIED OUT. The evergreens swayed indignantly, powerfully in awe of the Father. The clouds were moving across the horizon in admiration. The wind lifted higher the God who created BREATH and in the middle of it all the sun blazed brilliantly yellow. The God of the UNIVERSE touched down his finger on that beach, on the world and in my soul in that moment and I, smaller than ever before, more vulnerable and more peaceful, was freed from the ways of the world and got to run in worship and sing with PASSION to 

HIM alongside 

ALL THE ANGELS IN HEAVEN 

AND ALL OF CREATION!!!

 What a glorious sound we made. OH...

Holy! Holy! Holy!

Is the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.

Praise the Lord!!! Rejoice!

Let all creation rejoice before the Lord.                  - Psalm 96:13a

(The pictures were from that actual evening as my mom had her camera out. The first one is of my brother (he got into some worship too). The second is of the sunset and the last one is me returning to the cottage area after mysteriously running off for twenty minutes :P )