SACRED SPACES

365 Days of Thanksliving — Day 139

Sacred spaces—what often comes to our minds are the physical sanctuaries where we gather for worship and prayer; the places where we collectively consecrate ourselves to the Lord. This past Thursday evening, we hosted a fellow pastor for a session of training. Having never been to New Hope before, he was struck, as many are, by the beauty and the palpable sense of the sacred within those walls. He wasn’t wrong; it is a space set apart.

Tonight, however, my mind is drifting toward a different kind of sanctuary: the sacred spaces within our own hearts and minds. These are the interior places where the Holy Spirit resides, hearing our prayers, the quiet laments of our souls, and the joyous praises that proclaim His goodness. For me, today, those internal spaces have played host to the full spectrum of human emotion. I have found myself lamenting one minute and praising God with a joyous smile the next.

You might naturally ask what prompted such a swing. Normally, I would be quick to share the details of my day with you. But tonight, I am bound to sacred secrets that, in good conscience, I cannot yet reveal. All will be revealed in time—perhaps tomorrow, or in the days following—but for now, they must remain held in trust. (And I will say, to put any wandering minds at ease: your Pastor isn't going anywhere. Please let your heart be still if that particular fear tried to enter your thoughts.)

There is a profound weight to confidentiality—the act of holding sacred the secrets of another person’s heart. While we in the Protestant tradition don’t always emphasize the formal rite of confession, there is still a deep need to confide in another those things that often feel as though they begin and end between God and man. What I am carrying tonight isn't quite that, but it is close enough to feel the same gravity.

It is within these quiet, internal spaces that I find my gratitude tonight. I am thankful for the privilege of becoming a keeper of secrets that, until today, were known only to the Lord. I am not sure there is a higher honor in this life than to be trusted with the soul and life of another. For that trust—from God, from my family, and from my friends—I am deeply, humbly thankful.