Home Again

One of the surprises which awaited me in retirement on a small farm at the edge of a town only large enough to feature one blinking caution traffic light was the sense of being connected to the earth.  But, it was more than just a man seeing the earth in a new way, but a man who saw the earth in a way that opened new spiritual windows.  In so many ways I have stood and kneeled in awe at the power of the creation all around me.  Through this sense of being connected to the earth and the creation I have come to a new and different sense of being connected to God. 

 

From the onset I knew what I was experiencing in the creation was full of God.  It was not just a physical phenomena, but an opening to a new understanding of spirituality.  The more recent discovery of the ancient tradition known as Celtic spirituality gave what was brewing inside of me a name for what had been happening in my heart.  The Celtic tradition is earth honoring and places strong emphasis on our being connected to the earth.  According to this tradition the sacred spaces are not just those prayed over by human hands, but all those spaces which have been touched by the creative hand of God.

 

And, so we walk constantly in the midst of what is holy.  What God created in the beginning is what surrounds us in the present moment and the Word of God declares that what God created is good.  The creation is good and holy.  It is gifted to us by a benevolent creator God.  We never pick up a foot and put it down without  walking on good ground, holy ground.  I think along the way through the years of being surrounded by so much asphalt, concrete, and sprawling buildings I lost what it meant to be connected to the creation.  It has been good to come home again.