What's a musing???

The word sacred has changed for me over the years. For a long time the adjective was limited to the tangible parts of the church I could see, touch, smell, hear and taste. I knew the taste of grape juice and the crunch of my mouse size cracker meant something holy. I knew that when I walked into a church I was supposed to slow down, be respectful and attentive.  I knew when I watched someone be immersed backward into a small pool of water or when an infant had water trickling down its cheeks, God was there. The sacraments and the church are set apart and I understood that they are deserving of respect and honor because they are dedicated to the service and worship of God. It was undeniable that in the sacred places God would move and speak. I would look for God there. I would wait and listen and pray. God found me there.

In less than two weeks I will be attending my 20 year high school reunion. The cliche' phrase "I can't believe it's been that long" rings true. It also marks 20 years since God called me to be set apart. I was to be a part of these sacred rituals and symbols and work inside those sacred walls. I knew that ministry would be my tagline. Oh, how I wrestled with wanting to be like my friends with goals in the field of education, law, medicine and business. I dreaded the questions everyone asked about what I wanted to do for a living. I didn't have clear answers that teachers and parents like to hear. My income was uncertain.  I felt like Abram in Genesis 12. God tells Abram "to go." God called him to go, but did not show him where or what he would encounter. God gave no further details except for a promise. He gave a promise of land, descendants and blessings for all people.  My call to ministry felt like this. I knew God had promised me good things, but other than that the only thing I knew to do was "GO."

It was during those first few years of sorting out this call to ministry that my understanding of sacred places and moments shifted. I knew God spoke there, but where was "there?"  Could sacredness be found outside of what I knew as ordained places and times? Could it be that my life, my experiences, my surroundings, my people were all sacred places filled with moments where God speaks? When faith becomes more than religious verbiage and intellectual acknowledgment, it becomes a way of life.  Life then becomes sacred. I agree with Frederick Buechner when he says,

 "I think of my life and of the lives of everyone who has ever lived, or will ever live, 

as not just journeys through time but as sacred journeys."  

I am living a sacred journey, a life that is set apart and where a Holy God speaks to me in every way imaginable. My sacred journey has taken me thus far into the trenches of 16 years of marriage, mothering two girls and one boy and doing ministry in four different denominations in two states.  I use the word Musing...well, because the alliteration is fun, but because it means reflection, meditative, thoughtful, contemplative.  When I stop and reflect on my daily activities, I see the sacred. I see my children laughing and fighting, I hear rain and voices of loved ones, I taste the sweetness of a fresh baked pound cake, as well as the bitterness of medicine.  I feel the pain of heartbreak but have experienced a love story that no words could adequately describe. I smell stinky feet and dirty dishes, as well as fresh towels and strong coffee.  God is here with me in all these things...and with you too.