Anything Is Possible

“For God all things are possible.”

(Matthew 19:26)


Immediately after Christmas, I enjoyed a “staycation.” On a Sunday morning in the new year during my personal time of prayer and reading, I imagined what God might say to me if God would actually speak words out loud. I imagined what God would want me to know. I imagined what God would most want to say to me in the moment. I then wrote down the words that I imagined God speaking to me. This is a spiritual practice I began several years ago.

Here is a selection of what I wrote:

I will see to it that you experience incredible joy.

You are missing absolutely nothing in order to know

deep contentment, joy and wonder.

If you will only trust me in this, anything is possible.

As I begin a new year and consider our church’s vision, as well as what God might have in store for me personally. I felt God calling me to be completely open to the possibilities that lay before us. About an hour later, I picked up a friend and we drove to the very end of the road in Kokee. We parked the car and began walking on the Pihea Trail. As is my custom on that trail, I walked immediately to the edge of the cliff to see how far I could see. Sometimes I see the ocean and the majestic cliffs of Kalalua.

This trip, however, began with a magnificent Brocken Spectre! The phenomenon, which consists of concentric circles of rainbows, is named after a mountain in Germany where the occurrence has been seen by many. In order for it to occur, the observer must be positioned so that the sun is directly behind while standing on the edge of a cliff, and clouds, fog or mist must be in abundance and within a certain range of distance. All of these criteria just happened to be in place on Sunday morning when I arrived on the trail!

Until Sunday, I didn’t even know that this phenomenon was possible. It was a reminder that indeed anything is possible! May this be a year of amazing possibilities for us all!

Aloha nui loa!

Kahu Alan Akana

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“A Message from Our Kahu” is provided by Rev. Dr. Alan Akana of Koloa Union Church, an Open & Affirming (ONA) congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference. Rev. Dr. Akana is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and has been the kahu (pastor) of Koloa Union Church since 2014. Click HERE to learn more about him.

To see a video of this week’s worship service, including the message, click HERE. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see previous worship services and many of Kahu’s past messages. You can subscribe in order be notified when a new message is posted. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to church. Please feel free to “Like” any of the videos you see and share them on social media, such as Facebook, so that others will notice them.

You are welcome to join us on Sunday mornings! To learn about our Sunday morning worship service, click HERE.

Kahu Akana is also an accomplished artist! He specializes in creating vibrant watercolors of the flowers of Hawaii and hosts a Sunday afternoon reception in a gallery at his home, the Smith Memorial Parsonage. He also meets visitors by appointment. Most of the profit from the sales go for the maintenance and upkeep of the parsonage. To see a video about his art and gallery, click HERE. To see the gallery website, click HERE.