Setting Up a Sacred Place

Here's a picture of the space where I work.  It can get pretty hectic around here, dealing with clients who are at the most stressful point in their lives.  That's why it's important for me to create some breathing space where I work.  One of the things I've done is post motivational phrases, as well as pictures of my family, on my walls, and at my desk.  I also have a message board that I can change every day, right in the entrance to my work space.  I change the message every day, with a different inspirational line or few.  My desk is at an intersection in the office, so the area gets a lot of traffic, and the message board gets a lot of people who stop and read it.  It's kind of a small sacred place that I've set up, right in the office.

In Genesis 35, right in the middle of chaotic events, Jacob has an experience with God.  To mark that sacred place, Jacob sets us a pillar and anoints it with oil.  This became a marker where generations who came after him could stop and remember that God was still speaking, and that God still cared.  It was a stone at an intersection, a message board at a crossroads in Jacob's life and in the lives of those who went to that place for inspiration.

What sacred places do you have in your life?  Do you have a place of worship, or a trout stream, or a mountain, or a favorite chair in your living room, where you can go to meet with God?  Do you have a way of marking your own private space as holy, to remind you that even in the middle of chaos, God is still speaking, and God still cares?  I encourage you to take some time to create some sacred space in your life where you can find peace, and share that peace with others.