I’m currently sitting atop the third bunk in a cabin with no electricity, no water, no indoor bathrooms and I’m loving it. This week is training camp – a ten day intensive training meant to prepare us spiritually, emotionally, and mentally for the race. It has been filled with team building exercises, world race preparations, and seminars. One of our first seminars was on the topic of Ministry Instincts.
Having grown up in church all my life I feel like this is something I should have been away of, yet I have never heard this concept expressed quite this way before. The basic idea is that each individual relates to God in their own unique way. There is no one correct way to have a relationship with our Lord, in fact, there were seven different ways suggested to us – Aesthetic, Experiential, Activist, Contemplative, Student, Relational, and Naturalistic. The first instinct grabbed my attention and by the end of the lecture I was able to confirm that I indeed worship and relate to God in an aesthetic manner. This particular instinct is interested in beauty and art, ambience and a sense of immensity, classical music and liturgy.
With this new information tucked away for processing we concluded our session and were given an hour of personal time and strongly encouraged to use it as time with God. I gathered my stuff and found a comfortable place to just sit and be with God. It wasn’t until after I was done with my God time that I realized how dead on the aesthetic instinct is for me. I began my time with God by thanking him for the beauty that surrounded me, particularly a flower I had found earlier that day. I then proceeded to sketch the flower in my journal all the while listening to a soothing classical tune and delighting in our God the ultimate creator. How more aesthetic can you get?
Discovering this about myself has been such an eye opener and I wish someone had shown me this before. I now understand why I can’t study the bible for hours on end and why I always come back to the poetic books like Psalms. It’s just the way I’m wired. God has made me, me and He has done so with a plan and a purpose. I don’t need to try to impress anyone or please anyone by worshiping God in a way that is not me. It’s okay to find God in the beauty that surrounds us, in the artistry and craftsmanship of an old building, in the skill and mastery of a Monet, and in the tranquil melody of Bach or Mozart. God hears my heart through it all.
