Psalm 98:7-8 (The Message)

"Let the sea and its fish give a round of applause, with everything living on earth joining in. Let ocean breakers call out, 'Encore!' as they join the rivers in a standing ovation for God."

I play the guitar. Actually, it is more accurate to say I play at the guitar. I know enough chords to be dangerous, I can fake my way through a few fingerpicking patterns, and I've made peace with the fact that my F chord is more of an aspiration than an achievement. And bar chords? Forget about it.

I love music. Playing guitar gives me somewhere to put my mind that isn't anywhere else. It's a challenge I actually enjoy. And that’s enough. Any proficiency I pick up along the way is gravy on the biscuit.

One Saturday morning, I took my guitar out to the screened porch. I'd been practicing chord changes for weeks, and I thought a few minutes of that might be good.

I was concentrating on my fingers when I noticed it had started to rain. Not a storm, just a soft, steady rain moving through the trees in the yard. I kept playing. And then I noticed something.

My backyard is mostly trees. As the rain fell, it made a particular sound as it hit the layers of branches and leaves. As the rain intensified, the sound got louder.

It sounded like applause.

I stopped playing, and I listened. Then I laughed out loud. The trees were applauding.

Now I know the difference between rain and applause. No confusion there.

But I stood up anyway. I thought that it might be the only time I'd ever get applause for playing the guitar.

I played a C-F-G chord progression. It's the set of chords that underlies half the songs ever written, the musical equivalent of a handshake. And I took a bow.

"Thank you," I said. "Thank you very much."

The trees kept applauding.

The psalmist noticed the same thing: oceans giving a round of applause and rivers joining in a standing ovation. This has apparently been going on a lot longer than I realized.

And maybe that's how grace works. You're not trying to have a holy moment. You're just sitting on a porch with a cup of coffee and a guitar. The rain comes, and something you weren't looking for finds you anyway.

I don't know what the trees thought of my chord progression, especially my F chord. But I know they were paying attention long before I was.

Prayer

Lord, thank you for rain. Thank you for Saturday mornings and screened porches and the particular mercy of having somewhere to put my mind that isn't anywhere else. And thank you for the trees — who apparently have been paying attention all along. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Cliff McCartney.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

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First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.