My Thin Place

I woke up early this morning. Well, early by Phoenix standards. We flew out here yesterday to spend some time with Mike Breen and his team from 3DM Ministries. Amazing people! The time difference is making a difference in my day, though. You know it's bad when you fly out of Atlanta at 8:45am, take a nearly four hour flight and arrive in Phoenix at 9:30am. The time difference hit me last night before I got a second wind from dinner (more of that in a minute). Went to sleep at 10:15pm (1:15pm Atlanta time) and woke up at 5:20am this morning (8:20am Atlanta time).

So, got some good, quiet moments this morning over breakfast and coffee. Been pouring over my 'book of the moment' - I Became a Christian and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt by Vince Antonucci. Good thoughts in a humorous book. A little over the top at times, but good nonetheless. Read this quote and it struck me this morning...

The ancient Celtics believed in what they called "thin places." These are places where the natural and supernatural worlds come together at their narrowest, with only a thin veil between them. When you're in a thin place you're able to catch a glimpse of God, and it becomes easier to sense his presence.

I read that and thought, "That's what I experienced last night!" We had all gone out to eat with our new friends to P.F. Chang's (one of my fave places to eat). We sat around a big, round table, with a big lazy-susan type platter where they proceeded to bring out a sampling of appetizers, then a sampling of entries, and then a couple of desserts. We ate a little and laughed a lot, just enjoying the shared heart we have in Christ. Honestly, it was like one of those movie scenes when a group of friends are sitting around a table at a restaurant thoroughly enjoying their meal and time together - you know, the scenes where you think, "Real life just isn't like that." Last night it was.

To me it was a thin moment - a place where God's presence hovered and washed over our meal; where His love permeated every laugh and every conversation.

Have you experienced a 'thin place' before in your life?

Posted 05.30.2008