I heard about a revival starting at Asbury University in Kentucky. I don't even remember where I heard it, and I knew next to nothing about it. Sunday morning at 3:30 a.m., the Lord woke me up and invited me to take a road trip with Him to go see what He's doing in Kentucky. I would have left right then, but I had to run the livestream at church. The pastor talked a lot about the revival during his sermon, which I took as confirmation to go. I asked Mike, "Is it ok with you if I don't come home after church but go to Kentucky?" He was a little shocked. He said, "Did you pack any clothes? Do you even have a toothbrush?" I admitted that I did not and that I had absolutely no plan. All I knew was that I had to be back by Tuesday for work.
So as soon as church ended, I started driving. I was hoping to arrive before dark, but when it became clear that I wouldn't, I stopped to watch the lovely sunset over a pond with geese. After I got off the interstate, the roads got a little sketchy. Narrow, winding, hilly, no painted lines to mark the edge of the road, and no shoulder, just a dropoff and a crumbling stone wall that stretched for miles in various stages of disrepair. On this road, I began to ask myself, "Really? THIS is where the revival is? Not in a big city or somewhere well-known, but out here in the boonies in the middle of the country?" It occurred to me that that's probably what the people seeking the newborn Messiah were thinking too. Jesus appeared as a baby born in a humble, lowly place, not a majestic king riding victoriously into a big city. This is just like God.
I finally arrived in the little town of Wilmore at about 6:30 p.m. It was dark and I had no idea where I was going. I assumed it wouldn't be hard to find a raucous revival. I drove through the town in about 5 seconds and didn't notice anything revival-ish. I think I was expecting some huge venue with a Billy Graham sized crowd with lots of noise and commotion. All I saw was a chapel with both doors open. I slowed down and peered inside and saw some people sitting calmly in pews and presumed that wasn't it. I texted Mike and said I thought it had ended and I missed it. He said he was still seeing live reports on Facebook, so I parked at a Dollar General a few blocks from the chapel and walked to it. No rowdy crowds, no banners announcing "REVIVAL HERE!", no noise emanating down the street.
I walked in, and someone greeted me and said "Glad you're here." I wandered in and took a seat on a wooden pew. There were plenty of spaces available. I had the whole pew to myself. There was a man speaking up front. A couple students gave testimonies. I was a little disappointed and largely unimpressed. I had been expecting a wild party, miraculous healings, people being saved and delivered...not a small crowd of people sitting quietly. I had expected to be hit with a wave of the Holy Spirit that knocked me to the floor, but instead I didn't sense His presence at all. I said, "Lord, where are You? Didn't You invite me to meet You here?" Then a small worship team started playing "The Blessing" and everyone sang in harmony and tears started rolling down my face the way they often do when I sense the closeness of the Lord. I said right out loud, "Oh, there You are." And so it began.
The worship was anointed but very tame. No screaming and shouting, no fancy lights, not even any words projected on a screen. The speaker dude (never had any idea who he was, but he was good) invited people to the altar to pray. I didn't feel a call to go up, but I thought...I drove 6 hours to get here; I'm getting the full experience. I sat on the floor with some other people and started praying. I asked for forgiveness for not doing a better job raising my kids, not praying for them enough, not being a better example for them, etc. I cried and repented and prayed for my kids and my nephews and the kids attending that university and eventually expanded it to the younger generation throughout the world.
I prayed for my little group of leaders that I pray for daily, and I saw angels around them. Sometimes I see angels for real, but these were just in a vision in my head. They were circled around the people I was praying for, with their arms around each other's shoulders so their wings overlapped. They were ministering to them, speaking to them, filling them. And there was another circle of angels around the smaller circle, but they were facing out, so it was a double ring of back-to-back angels. The ones facing out were holding flaming swords and shields. They were big warrior angels protecting the people I was praying for from all kinds of sickness, lies, attacks.
I stayed there a long time. Then I noticed a woman in front of me facedown on the floor sobbing. I felt called to minister to her, so I crawled up next to her and put my arm around her and prayed for her. I prayed for the worship team to be refilled and refreshed as they continued leading worship for hours. My mind just wandered around in prayer for a long time, and at some point I went back to my pew. I don't remember what time it was when someone came up and announced that they were going to close the chapel until 10:00 the next morning but we could go across the street to "Hughes". I had no idea what that was, but I had driven 6 hours and I wanted the full experience. So I crossed the dark street with a small herd of people (absolutely zero vehicle traffic) and followed the crowd up the steps of a building that said "Hughes Auditorium" on the front.
This was a bigger space, louder, and filled with mostly college-aged kids. It was definitely wilder than the chapel experience, but still, not the craziness I had expected. There was a bigger worship team (but still small) leading songs we all knew. I stood at the back at first and got the lay of the land. Then I moved to the middle because I wanted to be in the middle of this singing crowd. It was glorious. I moved to the front because I wanted to watch the guy playing the beautiful grand piano. After a couple hours, another guy came up and tapped him on the shoulder and they did a fascinating dance of seamless transition. The new guy sat next to him on the bench and slid his foot onto the pedal as the first guy edged his foot off the pedal. The new guy scooted in and simultaneously slipped his hands under the first guy's hands and the music continued perfectly as the first guy pulled his hands off the keys and slid off the bench and leaned back in to hug the new player. If I hadn't been watching, I wouldn't have been able to detect that a completely different person was now playing.
Eventually I moved to the balcony because I had driven 6 hours and wanted to get the full experience from every angle. I had been cold the whole night (where are those hot flashes when you need them?!), and the longer I went without food, sleep, or adequate clothing, the colder I got. Around 2:00 a.m. I noticed I was shivering. I determined that it was not the Holy Spirit experience I had been hoping for, but just tired and cold and hungry. I decided I would go to the car and turn the heat on and drive around a little to look for a closer parking spot, then get the blanket out of the trunk to take back in with me. It was cold out and I was underdressed so by the time I got to the car, my teeth were chattering, and I was shaking so hard I could barely open the door. I cranked up the heat and drove through town, not finding a better parking spot. Then I was on the other side of town, and I realized my car was heading home. Sometimes God uses my car and surprises me. I was 100% planning on going back to the auditorium, but suddenly here I was driving home. It was weird.
I drove all night and got home just as the sun was coming up and Mike was just about to leave for work.
Update: The Lord started writing this song on the way home. We've been working on it all week.
Verse 1
He made the sky
And every grain of sand
He owns the waves
And holds the stars in His hand
Pre Chorus
But He is not too far to see you
He is not too high to love you
As a matter of fact
He did it all for you
Chorus
Come and sit in His lap
Come and rest in His arms
He's the powerful One
He's the God who loves you
He made the moon
He made the sea
And all He wants is you and me
Come and receive
He is all we need
Come and receive
Verse 2
Drop everything to hear His voice
'Cause He's speaking to you and He
always hears yours
Make room inside your heart for Him
'Cause it's you that He loves; you're
the one He adores
