Most all of you have heard them. The catchy phrases used to try to communicate
something that is hard to communicate with language. Phrases like “let go and let God,” “when God
closes one door God opens another”, or “It all happens for a reason, it will
all work out.” Maybe at times, you like
me, have become angry when someone says this?
There have been so many times that I felt like saying “seriously… do you
mean to tell me that this crisis moment in my life or another’s life can be
reduced down to this catchy phrase and this will make me feel better!!?” I have come to the conclusion that when this
is said that it is not someone’s idea of being cute or just a small pep
talk. Instead, I think there are certain
things that simply cannot be expressed with words. Honestly, matters of faith are really hard to
describe. I mean how do we describe that
which cannot be seen or touched? Our
entire ability to describe something is based on our senses. Matters of faith defy all of that; some would
say matters of faith even defy logic. Logic
takes us so far then there is that which we can’t be sure of. Can I prove there is no God? No I can’t! Can I prove there is a God? No I can’t!
Either place someone finds themselves, whether to disbelieve in a God or
to choose to believe, it is a matter of what is not certain.
For me, there have been moments of what I can only state are,
“sacred moments.” Standing at the
bedside when someone takes their last breathe, I have felt an energy present
that charges the room bringing a sense of scared silence. I have seen peace in the midst of sadness and
loss. Sacred moments when a child is
born and the mother or father holds that child for the first time, can you put
into words what that feeling is? Can
that be described? I mean even the word
love sounds flat when you use it to describe such moments. Have you ever seen that water fall or sunrise
that just feels so amazing that it catches you off guard or even causes a
slight gasp? It is these “sacred
moments” that keep me hoping for more.
These are the moments that lead me past the places where my senses fail
me. Can I prove to you where those
moments come from? No, I cannot, but I can tell you that there was a feeling
that cannot be described and it certainly cannot be tested or easily
reproduced.
I remember as a child
I traveled with a group of friends to a lake and there was this huge (well at
the time to my 8 year old judgment it seemed huge) high dive. I remember watching people scale the heights
and take the plunge. Soon enough I found
myself wanting that experience too. So I
climbed what seemed to be a ladder to the stars! I walked to the edge of the diving board and
looked down…I was terrified! All of my
logic said turn around climb back down!! Climb down the ladder go back to what
is known and safe and makes sense! Go
back to the ground you felt with your bare feet, where it is solid and
safe. Then there was this part of me
that said “Jump!” It wasn’t audible but
it was a feeling, even at 8 years old I felt that if I didn’t jump I was going
to miss out on something special. If I
didn’t jump I would regret it. Not sure
exactly what brewed inside of me but that feeling gave me just what I needed to
take a deep breath and fall. It felt as
if I fell from the clouds and the feeling was terrifying yet so exhilarating
that I couldn’t help but giggle and scream!
It was a risk, a risk of fear, a risk to defy what seemed logical, but a
risk I have never regretted taking. But
there I go again, trying to use language to describe something indescribable….
