Those of you who read my personal blog 'Holy Smoke' or connect with me on Facebook will know that I'm on a diet. Well it's not that sort of 'thin place' I'm talking about today, but it does tie the two blogs in rather nicely!
I describe a 'thin place’ as somewhere where the veil between heaven and earth is thin. A place heavy with the presence of God, where it is easier to pray, talk and to listen to God. When I visit such places, it’s like stepping into a warm bath. It’s as though all my worries and the heaviness of living in this world, falls off. I can relax and begin to breathe again. Often, in these places, there is little or no cell phone reception or Internet access - a blessing in itself! Suddenly I become unchained, unshackled.
Novelist, Mary DeMuth in her memoir 'Thin Places' (Zondervan 2010) describes thin places as, '..snatches of holy ground, tucked into the corners of our world, where, if we pay very close attention, we might just catch a glimpse of eternity.....They are aha moment, beautiful, realizations, when the Son of God burst through the hazy fog of our monotony and shines on us afresh.'Many of the thin places I love to visit, like Lindisfarne, have monastic roots, where there has been a daily rhythm of daily taking place across maybe sixteen centuries or more. What an awesome thought. No wonder these places are special!
What is your experience of 'thin places' and how do they affect you?
Posts
Thanks Liz, for harboring discussion about thin places here in your corner of the blogosphere. You're a blessing. In fact, I count some of our conversations as thin places.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Liz. I'm also reading Mary's book and enjoying it very much. I'm glad you referenced it. My experience of a thin place constitutes standing on holy ground--one minute you are in the midst of the daily, and the next moment you enter a spiritual dimension where time sits unrelated and the Spirit Holy captures your full attention.
ReplyDeleteThe location, be it the kitchen or the sanctuary, doesn't matter. A thin place remains a Spirit/soul encounter that leaves a mark within you and upon the little patch of earth where God reveals his burning bush.
Thanks, Mary. It's been a blessing getting to know you across the years, too. Just wish I could become a 'thin place' and drop some weight!
ReplyDeleteLove your comments, Susan. I love your reference to Moses and a 'thin place' being 'the little patch of earth where God reveals his burning bush.' You express yourself beautifully.
ReplyDeleteMine was my dining room table one afternoon when a friend prayed for me to be anointed with the Holy Spirit.
ReplyDeleteI had been saved a long time, and just wanted anything that was God for my life, in my life. Jesus became more real than my next-door neighbor and the Bible became so alive. His presence was so strong....
These books encouraged me with their thin places: _Lost Shepherd_ by Agnes Sanford, _Appointment in Jerusalem_ by Lydia Prince, and _Nine O'Clock in the Morning_ by Dennis Bennett.
You and Mary are both wonderful authors.
Lovely blog, Liz.
Wonderful, as evidenced that I've featured each of you on my blog in the past. LOL
ReplyDeleteLike some of the others who have commented here, I experience 'thin places' in those moments of intentional solitude and in the everyday routines of life.
ReplyDeleteHow do they affect me?
Profoundly.
I believe that those encounters with the Almighty are noteworthy because we could not stand in 'thin places' under the influence of the Holy One hour after hour, day after day. His glory is all-consuming during those moments.