Hush. Hush.

What almost seems appropriate is that there would be no words here. I know that you couldn't know what my heart would be saying by there being no words here, so I'll offer some words about why no words would be appropriate.

This past week, I had the honor of being in Newfane, New York about 45 minutes from the Canadian border and Niagara Falls. Our church has been attending REACH ministry service trips for decades. They have traveled our country quietly serving with REACH in loving people with word and heart as well as laboring on their physical homes in repair, addition and beautification. Our 23 gathered with 350 students and adults from around our country to be a blessing in Newfane and the surrounding area. This serving week reminded me of years of Operation Backyard in Knoxville where dear brothers in Christ offered the same opportunity in my then hometown.

This particular week of REACH for me held multiple streams to savor in my own personal life. My first serving trip with our new youth group family. Students and leaders welcomed me into a tradition they have held for a long time. Sixteen hour road trips through the night create great bonding memories. Disney sing alongs. Introducing them to Young T'ner. The traditional leader espresso shots. Sticky hot sleeping on deflating air mattresses. Some of you know this lore. This particular week also had a particularly tender atmosphere for my heart. I got to share this week with my son Trey who is now less than 3 weeks away from the start of his college years. I was so excited when I discovered that Trey and I would be serving on a roofing crew of students and adults from all over the US. Trey's first roofing experience. We had the honor of stripping an old roof and installing a new roof on Miss Georgette's home. Trey and his new friends absolutely dominated this project. Men who have much experience with roofing literally wept on the roof as they took in the beauty of the work that they did for Miss Georgette. They told them that it was the quality of job that could be paid for. It was really quite amazing to watch them come into their own and confidently serve this dear widow. They owned it. I was so proud of them. And, watching Trey was very intimate for my heart. He worked so hard. He was so tenacious. His life affects me. Miss Georgette wept as she spoke words of blessing on our team. It was a holy week.

In the middle of an intense work week, we are given Wednesday afternoon off to enjoy some down time with our youth group. It's an intentional pause in a demanding week to give refreshment for the finishing push at the end of the week. My friend BJ who had already planned this trip was aware that Niagara Falls, just 45 minutes away, was a no brainer. A Signal Mountain Bible team from 10 years ago had visited the Falls when they were in Newfane, but this new group of students had not taken in Niagara before. Neither had I nor Trey. As we drove toward Niagara, I was actually really thinking about what it would be like to encounter this sight. There is no way to anticipate what it is actually like to behold this wonder. I was totally blown away.

We chose to experience Niagara by going down to the bottom of the falls where you are able to stand and feel the torrent of wind and water as it crashes to the rocks below. I was mesmerized. I didn't want to leave. It was legitimately hard to walk away. I was pulled by its power. I was pulled by the power of God. A lot happened in the moments that I stood watching this majestic power pouring and crashing. I wept as I saw the nations of the world gathered to witness something so unique. I wept as I watched my son take in the power as he leans in to trust God in a new season of life. My tears mixed with the torrent of God. I mustered words to speak a prayer of blessing over Trey right at the foot of this majestic power.

Mostly, I just wanted to be quiet. God, You are so powerful, so creative, so beyond my grasping Your fullness. You will not be stopped. God can not be contained. God will not be contained. Nothing is more powerful than He is. I want this. I fight against this. I am wooed by this. I am quieted by this. Hush. Hush.

As I remember these moments by this other-worldly place in our longing, fallen world, I was thinking of words by Nichole Nordeman in a song called Hush. Hush. I will resist explaining how these words impact me. I will simply spell them here in these lines and let God wash them over you however He chooses.

"And I am the storm that swallowed you. I let you bleed, I thought you knew. And I am the bottom, and I am the floor. I am the deep you never knew before. I let you sink and I let you go.

I caught you in the undertow. And I am the shore, and I am the flame. And mercy is My name. Hush, hush. Hush now."

There's more.