Coincidence or synchronicity?
I love stumbling upon wonderful websites featuring content that resonates with thoughts or experiences I’m having at the time. That happened to me recently when I discovered Tony Laidig’s site called a Day with the Sacred. I’ve met Tony at the NAMS events for online marketers in Atlanta where he is a highly regarded faculty member, speaker, business coach, media expert, and publishing guru. I had no idea he was also a talented photographer.
“My curious mission for this project,” says Tony on his site, “is to explore what people consider ‘sacred’ by photographing those people, places and things and sharing them with you.”
The timing seemed more than coincidental.
I have been thinking deeply about what things in my life have strengthened my connection with God and whether any of them might help my Heartspoken readers. In one post, Tony asks, “What Do YOU Consider Sacred, and Why?” That inspired me to answer the question and share it here.
What I consider sacred
Sacred, to me, are those places and events that engender a response of holy awe: when the separation between earth and heaven—between me and God—feels thinner, the connection stronger.
One such moment was the day of my wedding 40 years ago, standing outside the church waiting to walk in and marry the man I adored (and still do). The beautiful strains of organ music suddenly stopped, and the sweet, clear sound of a trumpet playing Pachelbel’s Canon floated out and took my breath away.
The moment I first held each of my children in my arms right after they were born was a supremely sacred moment that I’ll cherish as long as I live. There is no way to gaze at that babe in your arms and not believe in miracles!
Outside of the sanctuary of my church, I’ve experienced a sense of sacredness in three other physical places:
- Stonehenge in England, where massive stones were mysteriously transported thousands of years ago and placed in alignment with the summer solstice;
- Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, where intricate ruins are all that’s left of an advanced culture that disappeared rapidly and mysteriously almost eight centuries ago; and
- Muir Woods in California, where I first walked in a redwood forest, overcome with their massive size and stately beauty.
Each of these experiences and places elicited in me a hushed reverence and a visceral sense of God’s presence. Each was holy and spirit-filled. Each was sacred.
What places or things do you consider sacred? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below or on my Facebook page.
I really like your piece on sacred places and moments. Lovely. Thank you.
Thank you, April. You are so tuned into the natural world around you that I imagine you have experienced a sense of sacredness in many spots on this earth. There is a sacred quality to our every day surroundings too.
I have been to Chaco Canyon – that is an amazing place. I still wonder where all those people went, and why? I felt a certain reverance when I went into the coal mine where great-granddad and grandfather worked in Lansford, PA. I heard and felt things in that place that sure have stuck with me (and I do believe I took a picture of a ghost – I like to imagine it was either James or Richard come back to say hello). Most of my special places have a tie to my family. Lovely article, Elizabeth.
Karen, this is fascinating and gets me thinking about the whole realm of places that are sacred to you primarily because of some personal connection you’ve had with them. Your example is vivid, and I can see why walking on the same soil where your ancestors did would summon all kinds of spiritual energy unique to you and those who share that connection. That coal mine must have reverberated with the blood, sweat, and tears of those men whose blood still flows in your veins. I have no doubt that energy could have manifested in ghostlike form in a photograph. That happened in a photograph my grandfather took, but that’s another story. Thank you so much for sharing this very personal experience with a sacred space.
Well, I have experienced awe and the sense of the sacred at two of the places you mention in your post. Stonehenge, about 20 years ago, took my breath away. Literally. I could feel a presence of something unseen but mysterious and worshipful. I was very surprised.
And Muir Woods gave that same sense of wonder and insignificance and awe at all that I don’t know or understand. And yet, know that somewhere, the answers are inside us.
That brings me to the times I’m at my desk writing. That is also a sacred space for me.
I love hearing writers say they feel their writing desk is a sacred space, and when they do, it’s almost always a direct correlation with the quality of their work. I have felt moments of that while writing, but when it does, it’s wonderful.
I have a 23 foot sailboat that I used to keep on the Eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. After a long week of meetings and then dealing with Jersey Turnpike traffic and a horrific storm for several hours I arrived at the marina just before midnight with plans to motor out to a favorite anchorage and spend the weekend in solitude. As I left the harbor and set a short course for my destination I looked across the bay and saw the faint lights of Annapolis and the outline of the Chesapeake Bay bridge. The water was like rippled glass and a steady Northwest breeze was all that remained of the storm. It was an invitation that I was powerless to resist. I began to make ready for a solo night sail. It takes about five hours to sail from Rock Hall to Annapolis and that night I made it in record time. I cleared the Bay Bridge and entered the harbor just as the sun rose above the horizon and the cadence of Naval Academy cadets echoed across the water as they were beginning their morning drill. During the night I had perfect sailing conditions and was able to trim my sails and secure the tiller in such away that the boat became “balanced.” It was literally sailing itself, allowing me to step away from the helm and go forward and sit with my back against the mast and simply ride along under a blanket of stars. Time stopped and I felt the presence of God. It felt like heaven. That night easily qualifies for my list of sacred moments.
Oh, Andy, this is a moving and vivid account of what was, indeed, a sacred moment. I am touched beyond words that you’ve shared it here. Thank you!