Friday, June 20, 2008

Dearest God,

This is a God center, a holy space set apart for travelers, pilgrims, seekers. A round facility, one cannot hide in a corner; we go round and round until we find ourselves at the "center." Holy ground, people gather here in this desolate northeast corner of New Mexico to find God or their own being.

My friend lead me down a broken clay path today to a labyrinth. Laden with white and black rock native to the area, I stepped inside. Walking toward the center, I breathed a prayer of happiness, one that shared my heartfelt thanks for the blessing of places on earth dedicated to discovery.

And discovery was mine as along the way I found surprises. Colorful ceramic faces on stone, faces smiling inside the circle. Could be someone else's or it could be mine. I know it was yours. In the small center circle under the hot sun, I wanted to linger, but felt myself wilting. Yet, I felt that sense of spirit, that unity that comes when one is intentional to union with the Creator.

The spaces created in the center lead one away from where they are to where they are going. A round stone fountain in the center of one room leads one to water, waiting to be living for the thirsty. Another is a round room with windows all around. Through these windows of the soul, I see plains and mountains, puffy white clouds that touch the earth and go so high as to never see the end. Like an artist with a paint brush painting God, I find the Creator looking back.

We sit at round tables in the open cathedral kitchen/dining room. There are no lines from here to there but rather circles that keep drawing us in and around to God and one another. Subtle, so subtle, we don't even notice it but my eye this morning was drawn to the circled rooms that lead to God.

One can wander to wonder here.

You are glorious,
Great and Wondrous Creator.
In your arms,
we find shelter
and refuge,
but not for long.
You want
to move us along
to new vistas
of creativity,
of learning
to let go
and take steps forward.
You want us
to take the challenge,
to surrender
the idea
of yesterday
for today.
Too much time spent
on yesterday today
leaves us almost
without a tomorrow.
And so
leaving yesterday behind
we discover today
right here
right where we are
and we give thanks.

Loving you, Andrea