What She Said! Part 1: Saturated with the Sacred
By Sue Tell, Guest Writer
TODAY’S TREASURE
Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” -Exodus 3:5
On this ordinary Tuesday, as I glanced through Facebook, this phrase stopped me, saturated with the sacred. My thoughts went back to last September as my sisters and I gathered around Mom's bed. Her eyes were closed, her breathing shallow, our hands holding hers. We prayed, we sang, we told stories, and we whispered Scriptures into her still-hearing ears. It was a holy moment. We were saturated with the sacred.
Then my mind traveled back farther to the summer of 2015. Our precious grandson spent 12 weeks in four different hospitals. As I spent time walking the halls with him cuddled in the front pack, or many nights feeding him a bottle and rocking him to sleep before falling asleep myself on the hospital cot, God's presence was very real.
Those were holy moments, saturated with the sacred. What about today, this very ordinary Tuesday? I'll go to the dentist, buy yarn for a new project, walk the dog, and squeeze in some laundry and computer time. Is today saturated with the sacred? YES! And the question becomes, am I aware? Am I experiencing the sacredness of today?
Oswald Chambers puts it this way in My Utmost for His Highest:
"It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God--but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people-- and this is not learned in five minutes."
In Exodus 3, Moses is having a conversation with the Lord. Part of God's words to him are, "... the place of which you are standing is holy ground." Exodus 3:5. The notes in my ESV Bible help me understand. "The instructions to Moses are followed by a reason that emphasizes the place where he is standing. The very ordinariness of the location helps make the point that it is holy ground, not because of any special properties of the place but only because of God's presence."
Today is an ordinary day for me and the place where I am standing is holy, too. God has promised his presence to me as well. It is saturated with the sacred.
... I will never leave you nor forsake you. -Hebrews 13:5
... I am with you always, to the end of the age. -Matthew 28:20
“‘Nowhere’ is not the conjunction of no and where but, rather, the conjunction of Now and Here, which is actually everywhere and is the only spot that we can truly experience God." Ruthless Trust, by Brennan Manning
PRAYER
Father, today, I thank you for Your presence with me. I thank you for Your love and for trusting me with Your purposes. I thank you that all of today is saturated with the sacred, that I am standing on holy ground. God, I so want to live that reality on this ordinary Tuesday, Amen.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sue Tell and her husband Bill have been married for almost 46 years and have served on the staff of The Navigators for 46 years as well. Although their official roles have changed over the years, the campus ministry has always been a part of their lives. Sue writes a weekly faith-based blog, Echoes of Grace, that you can find at suetell.com. She also enjoys facilitating Sabbath-Living retreats to help women grow in their friendship with God. Bill and Sue have two married sons, five grands, and her favorite walking buddy, a Golden Retriever named Lexie.
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Originally published Wednesday, 14 April 2021.
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