Sacred Space

Sometimes the hardest times and places in our lives are the most sacred.  Perhaps it’s because it’s when we are up against the impossible; when the storm is at its height; when the sky is the darkest that we call on God.  We search for meaning in a situation that is desperate and life changing.  We search for understanding in a time that changes our priorities and understanding of what’s important.  We search for something deeper than the superficial that has up to this point filled our lives.  We yearn for reconciliation and forgiveness; for conversation about real stuff.  We want to know that the end isn’t really the end; that there’s more after death. 

It’s when we welcome God into the hard times and places in our lives that make them sacred.  Whether we call ourselves religious or not, often it’s the dark days that open us up to the possibility of God – to the sacredness of life.  As a hospice chaplain, it’s a gift to be invited into these sacred spaces with patients and families and loved ones as they journey through the end stages of life – something we all will do someday.  A time when we finally have those conversations; ask for forgiveness; say what’s important.

It makes me wonder.  What if we lived every day as if it were our last?  What if we had those kinds of conversations all the time?  What if we asked for forgiveness when we needed it, not just when we thought we were dying?  What if we naturally forgave one another while we still had time to be in relationship?  What if we said what needed to be said today instead of tomorrow?  How rich our lives would be!  What amazing relationships we would have! 

What would it be like to live in the sacred on a regular basis?