Sacred Space
When I think of sacred space, one of the first places that comes to mind is a small cabin in the Ozark Mountains. Since Jude was born, every fall around Halloween, my family and I have retreated to the Ozark Mountains for a week to see the fall colors. The cabin immediately became sacred to us, and we started calling it "our cabin."
Rob and I are "go-go-go" kind of people. We love life, our friends, and our church, and so we often pack our calendar full of church, social, and family events. When I see a white space on my calendar, I start thinking of all the fun educational things there are to do with Jude in Dallas, or projects I could start. But there are times when a "Carpe Diem" treadmill can absolutely wear you down, and you just need to retreat. This cabin has been that for us. For one week each year, we go to our little cabin in the woods with no agenda except to be together. We cook in the kitchen, and explore the woods. My son's nap times are never used for laundry, emailing, or cleaning as they are at home: I actually lay down and doze off or read these amazing things called books. It's glorious!
So it's about 5am right now and I've been up since 3:30am and went to bed at 11pm. The baby woke up to eat, and I just couldn't go back to sleep because my mind is racing with all the things that I have to do before Christmas. And I've been loosing things lately -- putting them down and forgetting where. Sleeplessness and forgetfulness are classic symptoms of stress for me -- telling me that I've bitten off more than I can chew, and that I need to slow down. I need to retreat, and I so I remind myself that I have an Oasis locked into my memory in a sleepy wood in the Ozark Mountains. So I close my eyes, and I am there again, at "our" cabin....
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