A Sacred Space

First, I must tell you that a few faithful followers (& good friends) asked why I haven't been blogging.  I told them that I've been very busy, which is true, but the BIGGER reason is that the world swirling around in my head is so much like the tornado in Wizard of Oz that I don't know what's going to happen, where things are going to fall, if there will be color when it finally slows down, or if there will actually be a Wizard of Oz or just a strange guy behind a curtain.

Just of few of the questions in my brain's tornado are these:  What the heck is happening here?  Why isn't life turning out the way I thought it would?  Why did Joe Shmo do that to me or somebody else.  What happened to the parents/brothers/sisters/relatives I grew up with?  What happened to me?  Is life always going to be this hard or does it get easier?  Do my kids really love me, because I have one that refuses to say it and that makes me sad because he's only six:(

Of course, situations just aren't as easy as we like them to be.  Here's an example.  I'm a snob.  I recognize this about myself.  In my snobbiness, I have places that I like to go (either by myself or with my family) that I consider my own little "sacred space".  Now, by using the word sacred I don't necessarily mean that it's holy or in a church building or built around prayer.  It can be, but that's not what it is for me at this moment.  These are just places where our family can enjoy one another without interruption of outside influences.  I get annoyed at the drop of a hat and as soon as my sacred space is encroached upon, I start to get anxious.  Nobody can make this space as good as I can.  And, really?  You had to smoke?  Why did you have to ruin my day with smoking?  Just my own little paradise.  So, a few weeks ago, one of my sacred places was encroached upon.  I've been feeling anxiety and stress about it, but still trying to be an adult and come to terms with life.

And then I thought, is this a bigger problem of wanting to have what others have?  Is it an issue of jealousy or is it really an issue of me not wanting others to have what I have in my sacred place?  The answer is a dead-giveaway and very childish.  I don't want to share my toys!  These spaces are mine and you are ruining my time with my family.

Another sacred space for me is my bedroom.  I love it in there before my husband comes in to rest his weary body from working in the heat.  I love my room so much that I read in there, watch tv, work on the computer, and more.  It is sacred for me...until my husband comes to bed 5 minutes earlier than normal and I'm not done with my prayers and he always wants to talk.  Or, one of the boys is sick and needs help getting to the bathroom.  Then, for me, all the sacred is taken out of my spot...and my brain.

And speaking of sacred space, I hope you all have a nice place to call sacred.  Maybe it's your church, or a chapel, your locked bedroom door while the kiddos are napping.  Someplace.  You need it.  Maybe for you, like me, it starts in the corner of the basement where nobody will come to find you.  You need it!  Find that spot and find your time to spend in prayer with our Lord.  Open your heart to Jesus and let him help you heal or guide you through your current journey.  Not a Christian?  Still use the same amount of time to center your thoughts and plan ahead...maybe open a conversation with God.  He'll hear you no matter what.  Use this time to pray for others who are hurting, or those you don't even know but are homeless and without food.

I guess one thing I forgot to mention about a sacred space is that, sometimes, it doesn't matter at all where it is, but that it's silent.  Personally, I get completely overwhelmed when I don't get a bit of silence at some point during the day.  My thoughts start spinning and that tornado in my brain starts up all over again.  It's really hard to find any silent time when you have children, a job, and a million obligations every day.  One suggestion I have for all of us is this:  Spend the first 7 minutes of your day in sacred silence.  This is not my original idea, but borrowed from a dear friend.  It's much harder than you think.  Seven minutes is a LONG time.  I know you don't believe it, but try it and see how fast your mind goes to "I could be putting dishes away, cleaning the bathroom, running to the post office, etc"  But, it's a great amount of time to spend quietly centering ourselves to get ready for the long day ahead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QtxUxlcB_4

(Just one quick side note: I've been trying to put in some background music on my blog and I cannot, for the life of me, figure the darn thing out.  Obviously, computer technology will NOT fit into my sacred space any time soon!  So, enjoy the You Tube video link instead!)