a few weeks ago my wife and i had the opportunity to do something.
it wasn’t anything big really
but it doesn’t need to be
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but before i get there, let me ask you to walk down a path with me…
.
how many cars do you pass on the road any given day as you drive or ride in to work, school, volunteer opportunities?
how many digital screens do your eyes fall on in any given day? tvs, cell phones, electronic billboards, computer screens, … and the list just goes on.
how many voices call out for your attention as you go about your daily routine? children, spouse, co-workers, cashiers, friends, telemarketers, radio personalities, … and the list just goes on.
how many activities visit your family’s monthly calendar, weekly schedule daily routine? ball games, grocery runs, practices, errands, outings, last-minute darts here and there, … and the list… you get the picture.
and with all of life swirling all around us and inside our heads, with all of the pressures and concerns that weigh us down – a new diagnosis, and ongoing treatment, the news of loss, the threat of layoffs or early retirement, betrayal, unfulfilled expectation, our failure to meet others’ expectations, … it can be all together overwhelming.
and we carry those mountains of emotional, physical, social, mental, and even religious stress with us everywhere we go.
our lives are filled with the baggage of the past and the demands of the future.
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it is very rare that we are able to just sit and be present.
it is uncommon for us to be able to have a conversation with no distractions – to be able to lay aside every external demand and every internal anxiety – to look another soul in the eyes and listen.
and for some of us it is even more difficult… perhaps it even seems impossible… that we could come into the presence of God, and just be.
to come into the presence of God and not have to have something to say, or something to read, or something to sing… nothing to give, nothing to expect in receiving… just to be in the presence of our infinite and eternal Creator – our Father.
to be present.
.
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knowing ourselves, and knowing the distractions that try to come into the presence of God on our coat tails, only to drag our attention from him… knowing that, we created our presence place.
and then we shared it.
and so now, when you come to worship with us at sylvan hills, you will find our presence place.
as you come into the doors of our worship center you will see a quiet table in the corner in front of you and to the right.
on it you will find a box. and beside it you will find note cards and pens. they are provided so that you can sit for a moment of centering, identify the distractions that have come with you into this place of worship that would keep you from being fully present as we worship our God.
having identified those distractions, the cards are there so that you can write down your would be distractions. this does two things: first, it helps us recognize that these distractions are real. and secondly, it helps us to begin putting them out of our focus.
the next step is to put the card into the box on the table… to put the distraction fat away from us, in a place where it must stay as we then proceed to enter into our place of worship.
it may sound a bit elementary at first, and it may feel a bit awkward in the beginning… but it works.
on that table you will also find a frame which holds a piece of paper with these words:
welcome to the presence place
this is a safe place. this is a place of peace and of rest. this is a place that is designed for you to be able to come and put aside anything that would try and get in the way of your ability to be fully present with God.
as we go through life there are so many demands and expectations that pull at our attentions. it can be very hard to clear our minds and find peace.
our calendars are filled with our work commitments, our children’s school and extra curricular activities, errands we need to run, a spouse who needs a few minutes of quality time… in the middle of all of that, we struggle to find rest.
our hearts are heavy with the reality of sin in our world, in our friends, in our families, and in our own lives. and so often embarrassment and shame cripple the soul. sometimes we even come to the place of worship, knowing that we need healing and belonging, but fear and feelings of failure keep us from really drawing near to God in the confession that leads us to freedom and forgiveness.
our hearts are heavy with losses: the loss of a job, the loss of a friendship, the loss of a loved one, the loss of health. and our hearts are heavy with each little reminder of those losses. our grief simply will not be comforted. and we are the only one who knows.
there are so many distractions that the adversary will use to keep our hearts from being fully present and engaged as we worship our Father.
this is the place to lay them down. this is the place to acknowledge the distractions and then put them away, so that we can be fully present with God and with each other.
this is our presence place
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it is our prayer that it will become yours too.
