Hallowed.

         

The view down my road.

I have been spending quite a bit of time with people in transition these past weeks, some of the transitions are ones that have been chosen and others have been forced, all have a sense of looking down the road and not knowing what is at the other end.  As in this picture--there is mystery and beauty, some may feel ready for such a journey and others may feel anxiety.  All of this pointing to the fact that there is more than we know to our living, this life and what happens next.  It really is quite amazing that we have been able to continue on as a human race with all we don't know--which means all we really have no control over.

            Hallowed; I have been preaching on the Lord's Prayer and the word that stood out to me this week was hallowed.  Hallowed could be considered similar to the translation of sanctified--set apart.

            Every once in a while we get a glimpse of the sanctified and maybe that is how we go on, it is the fuel, the substance, the gentle nudge, it is what raises our eyebrows with the awe and wonder of a child; creating the curiosity to go around one more corner.

            There are times when we are given the insight to something that is so beyond measure--something that we cannot create new words to describe; no camera can capture the full essence of these moments.  It is of no surprise that quite often these moments are a part of nature-- God's creation belonging to all people, but there are times when we are so close to those things, set apart from all the others, that we feel in our souls, guts, eyes and throats--you know--that tight feeling that makes it hard to swallow?  Those times are like holding a bubble in the palm of your hand with breath held; making every effort to extend the moment.

         And there is God--right there--right there!  We look left, right, craning our necks behind us wanting others to share--asking "Did you see that?"  And suddenly there is reason to believe.

Frederick Beuchner shares: "Maybe we cannot manage to believe with all our hearts. But as long as the moments last, we can believe that this is of all things the thing most worth believing. And that may not be as far as it sounds from what belief is. For as long as the moment lasts, that hallowed, gracious time."