A sacred place of encounter with God

The rain the evening before was almost unbearable. Within our small tent we heard a veritable waterfall of water pour on us. Neither George nor i would get much sleep that long night. When sleep did find us, we would soon be awakened by the freight train of noise as the rainstorm continued to pound our little tent.

We would have a fairly dry place to sit once day broke and we ventured outside our tent in the morning. In the light rain earlier that evening we lashed two large tarps together to provide some shelter from the rain. We awoke at 7:00 am to a strange silence. Poking my head outside the tent i saw the mist rising from the wet earth in the cool morning air. The beauty of the moment was truly sublime.

After breakfast we decided to spend some time in prayer and meditation before coming together for lunch to share what God was doing in our spiritual lives. After quite a bit of time praying through a passage of scripture (Lectio Divina) i ventured out into the poignant beauty of God's creation to continue my worship. It was here that i happened upon what the Celts would call a thin place.

Standing by the nearby riverbank the scene that unfolded before me was awe-inspiring.
Accost the small valley the mountain jetted upward into the cloud cover. Clouds of mist swarmed through the trees as the morning sun began to brake through to highlight a myriad colors and hues of green. In that moment of worship i felt God permeate me. i stood looking at creation in a sacred place of encounter with God.

In that instant a flash entered my conscious mind.
This moment, beautiful and pristine, unfabricated and natural made me whole.
Without thought I remain motionless yet I can feel God.
i am being, God is being, and we are in communion.

i knew the words of God saying to me "Feel me!"
Lifting my head upward toward the sky a warm wind brushed my face in a gentle caress.

To Experience the presence God in that instant of eternity.

Experiencing God in the wind
-----------But She is not the wind
Experiencing God in the clouds
-----------But He is not the clouds
Experiencing God in the trees
-----------But the Father is not the trees
Experiencing God in the river
-----------But the Son is not the river
Experiencing God in the plants
-----------But the Holy Spirit is not the plants
Experiencing God in the rocks
-----------But YHWH is not the rocks.
Experiencing God in the warmth of the sunlight
-----------But I AM is not the sunlight.
Experiencing God in the raindrops
-----------But God is not the raindrops.
Experiencing God in the very earth beneath my feet
-----------But She is not the earth.
Experiencing God in my innermost being
-----------But He is not my innermost being

i could not remain in this moment for long. Eventually the clouds of concept entered my mind and i returned to the sense of ME and my separateness. Lost was the experience of deep union with God that i had in that timeless moment. i stood there alone and yet complete. I know that this moment does not come once or twice but it is continuously present. Available. I had slowed down and simply opened my eyes to our communion in Christ.

A sudden rush of energy, Love, joy, strength welled up in my heart. i was at a deep peace with all living things. In the afterglow of that moment i worshiped God, listened to her speak through the trees, wind, plants, animals and the forest. Enraptured with the majesty of God in this Thin~Space. The world seemed different! i am different! i walked through the forest as a child seeing the life in every leaf, plant, tree and creature i came to. Manifested in the textures and contours of each living thing i encountered. Touching them i understood our interconnectedness. Coming to a plant with edible berries i received nourishment from them. To eat is an expression of our communion.

We are all God's loved creation. i know that all of creation has a life of their own that is sacred in the most intimate sense of the word. Reality has an interdependent nature at its core. We are all apart of each other in this vast existence of God. i ~ God ~ Nature ~ Life ~ You ~ We ~ Us ~ all one in Christ. To be in communion with God and all of creation in an instant of eternity i understood the essence of being.

Please do not confuse my language here. i am trying to describe an intensely personal reflection of a mystical experience. The reality of my experience resides in the interplay of the dualities expressed within the concepts & words used in this post. i can only hope that you have an analogous experience to relate this to.

i feel like i have not done adequate justice to that moment of eternity and communion i experienced and am still experiencing in a subtle way. This post is a dim understanding of what transpired in that instant as i simply lack the language to explain it with more clarity.

God is to be experienced and we are to be changed by that experience.