The Hands of God

One thing which did not change when I retired was working with holy stuff.  Back in the days of working as a pastor, my hands were constantly handling what is regarded as the holy.  While so much of the work of the church is about maintenance and propping up its institutional life, there is still ample opportunity to handle the spiritual matters which give life to the soul seeking God.  The liturgy of the church has a way of keeping those within the church grounded on spiritual things as does the worship life and sharing of the Holy Sacrament.

 

In the years of actively working within the church, it often seemed that I was surrounded by the holy.  As I walked into retirement, I did not realize how little this would change.  It took some time to see, but as I walked deeper and deeper into a way of life so rooted in the creation, I began to see that the holy was not bound within the walls or the ministry of the church, but was, in fact, once again surrounding me.  I have come to understand how dependent life is on the dirt of the earth, the wind in the air, and the life giving rain of the heavens.  I am beginning to sense and experience the holiness of God in so many ordinary things of the creation around me. 

 

What makes for something being holy is not the prayers of the preacher, but the hands of the Creator.  This has not really changed.  I suspect that many have walked through the created order like I have done for so long.   Walking and being blessed, but not seeing is one way to describe the journey of so many like me.  One of the blessings of being where I have been placed is the blessing of having eyes opened to the way we walk not a step in this life without being surrounded by what is holy because everything around us, before us, and behind us has passed through the hands of God.