Midweek Moment

As a pastor, I get the opportunity to be involved in various activities. One of the most humbling aspects of my ministry is to be invited into sacred spaces. I am permitted to be with people during times of extreme joy as well as times of incredible sadness. As part of my vocation, people have allowed me to enter hospitals and rehab centers, court rooms and homes, to be with them. When I wear my Druid Hills shirt or my hospital badge, I am permitted to go almost anywhere in most facilities.

It is a privilege to be allowed into those sacred spaces. It is in those spaces that feelings are shared, souls are bared, and emotions are raw. It is a holy calling to know that you have been trusted by a family or individual to witness and be a part of those moments.

This week I have been a part of both ends of that spectrum. I have been part of families experiencing great joy and immense sadness and in both of those settings God was at work. Celebrating and grieving, singing and healing. Regardless of the situation, I have always encountered God in those sacred spaces.

Many of you may know this, many of you may have already experienced this, but pastors are not the only ones invited into sacred spaces. Each of you, within your relationships, have probably been invited into those sacred times. You have been the one to offer hope, peace, and love. You have been the one that was charged with being God's vessel in those intimate moments.

Jesus told us, "And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I'll be there" (Matthew 18:20, The Message). What comfort that brings me as I enter into those moments. I know that no matter how a situation unfolds, God is there. In joy, God is there. In sadness, God is there. In triumph, God is there. In darkness, God is there.

I want to encourage each of you, the next time you are called upon to enter into a sacred space, go confidently. Know that God is already there. Open yourself up to the power of the Holy Spirit and be that empty vessel, full of God. Allow the love, joy, compassion, and grace of God to flow from you. It is in those moments of obedience that we get to feel the power of being the heart, the hands, and the feet of Jesus Christ to another.

Thank you for all you do for the Kingdom of God!