Thin Places

While on my sabbatical last summer, my daughters and I had the opportunity to surf in the North Sea off the rugged coastline of Scotland. The water was emerald green, the sheer rocky cliffs dropped directly into the water, and pasture land rolled right up to the shore. The waves were powerful and well formed – near perfect for surfing.

The location, Farr Bay, felt like a “thin place”, a place where the veil between heaven and earth was at its thinnest. We could sense the presence of God.

John Philip Newell writes about early Celtic Christianity: “The shoreline, that liminal space between land and sea, between known and unknown, the soil of our habitation and the waters of life’s origins, was (seen as) a portal that opened to the union of the temporal and the eternal, the seen and the unseen.”

For some of you, it is the shoreline, whether river, lake, stream, or ocean, that is for you a thin place. For others of you, it may be the mountains, or open ocean, or the vast plains. For others still, it is the quiet of a sanctuary or early morning in the garden. Wherever it may be for you, I hope you find yourself there often.

Let us pray: We thank you, O God, for making your presence known to us in various times and places throughout life. Through these glimpses, may we gain strength and courage for the journey. Amen.