Stirrings of the Holy

One of the great Old Testament stories takes place as Moses draws aside from being a shepherd so that he can see the bush that was burning, but was not consumed.  Before Moses got too close the Lord spoke saying, "Come no closer!  Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground."  (Exodus 3:5)  A little later after all the plagues had run their course and the people had come to Mt. Sinai, the Lord spoke again to prepare Moses for what was to come by saying, "..the whole earth is mine..."  (Exodus 19:5).  Mt. Sinai, the burning bush, everything in between, and everything all around bore the imprint of the Creator, and therefore, it all was holy ground.     

Barefooted we would be all the time if we took off our shoes when we walked on holy ground for all the ground beneath our feet is holy.  What is true is that the whispers of holiness fill every stirring of the creation.  Every living creature, every growing thing, every rock and stream, every thing in the air and above the air is holy for it all speaks of the handiwork of God.   

Our inability to sense these holy stirrings all around us speak of our separation from the life we were created to live.  We were not brought into this created order to live out of sync with it, to live without an awareness of the holy, or to be so filled with hurry that there is no time for stillness.  It is no wonder that there is an unsatisfied longing within us which often seems like we are constantly reaching for something which floats in the air just beyond our grasp.  We were meant to live with an awareness that everything around us is stirring with the essence of the holy for from what is holy we came, in the midst of what is holy we journey, and to what is holy we are going.