by Pastor Dan Baumgartner

A funny thing happened in June. I completed my eighth full year as Senior Pastor at Bethany. Given that I never would have dreamed I would be a pastor, and then that we never thought we’d wind up back in Seattle and then that Bethany was the last church we ever imagined being called to…it seemed a significant milestone. Eight years is a fairly long time. Who would have thought?

On the day I was ordained, a good friend charged me to “watch for God.” It has proved to be great advice, as there are many other expectations and activities that could sidetrack this most important calling: “watch for God.” So periodically I try to just take a deep breath and see where God has been showing up. Here’s a few things I noticed in June:

▪ The very alternative and anti-faith
Seattle newspaper The Stranger did a front page article “reviewing” thirty churches in Seattle. Bethany was one of the thirty, and one of maybe two that received a review that was not obscene or disinterested. It seemed, in fact, that the reviewer experienced God’s presence in the worship and community here. Who would have thought?

▪ After visiting Bruce Devereaux a couple of times in the hospital following his terrible bicycle accident, I read his recent reflections and cried as I was touched again by Bruce’s deepening faith in a God who is present and yet larger than our immediate circumstances. I have so much to learn. Who would have thought?

▪ I sat at a meeting table with a racially diverse group of leaders to talk about ways to work and love across various barriers and am filled with encouragement that the Spirit of God is stirring in this way in Seattle. Who would have thought?

▪ Anne and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary with a few days in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

On the plane I prayed, “Lord, I wonder how you will show up on this trip?” I realized that I was both very in love with my wife and also internally pretty tired.

The first morning in Santa Fe we went for a run together, and then stumbled onto a local neighborhood coffee shop. We sat out in a large garden area in the warm sun and sipped good coffee. As we chatted, I noticed a small child playing nearby. A little while later I noticed that the child was a beautiful little girl, perhaps four years old.

Slowly it struck me that unlike the very subtle colors of the Southwestern rocks and cacti which surrounded us, the little girl was white blond, wearing a deep red dress and chasing a bright yellow Monarch butterfly. I was mesmerized. Somehow that scene became a linchpin that released my tired interior, and woke me up to see the immense beauty of God’s creation in the high desert. Who would have thought?

▪ At a Wednesday Night Dinner, I sat at the round table in the library with three other men. As is often the case, the conversation had a hard time staying on track. It started with the story of the prodigal son from Luke 15, but eventually ranged across all sorts of political and philosophical lines. Inconsistencies, interruptions and flat out heresies simultaneously vied for attention. Yet at the end we gathered to pray, and a palpable peace settled over the room for several minutes. God’s presence. Who would have thought?

Small things. Glimpses and reminders that the Lord is here, present and often working in ways we wouldn’t have predicted. Watch for God.