S is for Sacred Moments


                      

I used to think sacred meant rare. Big, marked, set apart by ceremony. Now I am starting to think that sacred might mean slow enough to notice.

To me, sacred is Mike, stable at home on a quiet evening, no alarms, no urgency. Just the noise of the tv and the comfort of us sitting in our recliners (yes, we are getting old) not needing to fill the silence.

Sacred is spending time with my friends, whether it be a quick laugh at work, getting a matching tattoo with the bestie or having brunch with my sister, my tea and her coffee getting cold because we’re too busy laughing or sharing  stories we’ve told 100 times before but some how are still funny.  The kind of connection that reminds you where you came from.

Sacred is spending time with my grown kids and my grandkids. Playing hide and go seek when your granddaughter announces where she is hiding every time. FaceTiming when miles separate us. Beautiful little faces yelling “Hi Grammy” like I’m the most important person in the world. A text from the older grands just to say hi, I miss you or I love you or them just sending an emoji just to say you’re on their mind.

Sacred is when your student reaches a goal, when their frustration softens, when they make a break through and feel proud of themselves and you know, you played a role in it. No spotlight, no applause, just a quiet ‘there it is’.

I’m realizing that sacred doesn’t always announce itself. Sometimes it hides in a BLT and coffee refills. A rare uninterrupted tv show or movie while the dog is sleeping and not needing to go out. In the ordinary miracle of everyone being ok for a minute.

Maybe that’s the real gift. Not just surviving in the hard moments, but recognizing the sacred in the steady ones. Because sacred isn’t only found in crisis prayers or huge victories. It’s found in presence, in attention. In choosing to pause enough to say “this matters”.

From A-S in this blog series, I’m seeing a pattern. The sacred has been threaded through every letter. Not because life is dramatic, but because God is near. 

I think sometimes, the most sacred thing a person can do is sit in their living room, in a booth in a cafe, in a tattoo parlor listening to the buzz of the machine, in a classroom with a student or grab a quick laugh in the hall with a coworker, or acting surprised when you find your grandchild hiding in the same place for the 100th time…in those little moments that can easily be taken for granted, the sacred can be found if we just take the time to “smell the roses” so to speak.

It’s about awareness, about reverence for what’s right in front of you. 

“This is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. ~Psalm 118;24


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