Sacred spaces...

One of the in patient rooms at Houston Hospice, a not-for-profit 501 (c) 3 organization that is community-supported. Their mission is to provide compassionate physical, social and spiritual support to individuals with a life-limiting diagnosis, and their loved ones, irrespective of their ethnicity or beliefs. They believe no one should live in pain or in fear of being alone. Houston Hospice utilizes a team-oriented approach to medical care, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support tailored to each unique patient.

"Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground."
~ Exodus 3:5
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Any time that I walk into one of the rooms at Houston Hospice where I serve as a chaplain, I get a sense of the words that God spoke to Moses upon the mountain that day.  For any of us, our ability to recognize the "Holy" is found in many places and ways.

So often when I think of the space where people gather to care and provide support for those who are in their final days of life, I experience a type of holiness that is not found anywhere else.

What is it about sacred spaces that bring us closer to God?  And where are those places for you?

For Moses, he found that on the top of the mountain, he was confronted by a burning bush that spoke to him.

For any of us, the place where we find ourselves can become a place of sacredness.  It's all in the perspective of how you view it.

I know of people who have found that sacredness within the walls of amazing cathedrals, while others, under the outstretched arms of canopies within the forest.  For me, that space seems to always be changing.  Although there are sacred places I have visited in my life, that brought about a closeness to God that I cannot explain, except to proclaim that it was "Holy," I have to admit, that even in the confines of my car, stuck in traffic, I have sensed God's overwhelming presence.

God wants us to encounter God in amazing ways, but even in the stillness, and quiet, sacredness can be found.

As the psalmist reminds, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me," so does our need to encounter God.

May we all discover the sacredness of space, in our seeking of God's presence.  Amen.

Stay in God's grip!

G. Todd Williams (c) 2018