God Is Waiting There 

I know a place
where God dwells, the heart whispers.
Let us go there.

Why, God is
everywhere, the head replies. There is
no place where God is not.

Yes, says the heart, but there are thin places
where earth and heaven touch.
God is waiting for us there.

Some places are sacred to me: my friend’s cabin on Bowen Island, Battleship Islands on Garibaldi Lake, and Black Sage Road that weaves through the vineyards between Oliver and Osoyoos. Each place evokes a visceral memory of an encounter with God. These experiences were so profound that my body remembers them with a flutter of awe whenever I imagine myself there.

“A favourite place of mine is a particular trail and beach on Vancouver Island near Tofino,” writes Mike Stewart, an Anglican priest. “Every time I visit the area, I am touched again by God’s friendship. Once when I was staying with friends there, I had a sudden desire to visit the trail and beach. In my heart I knew Jesus was waiting for me to get there. As I walked the beach alone, I heard him speaking to me in the ocean wind, ‘I will always  be your friend.’ ‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘And I yours.'”

Credits:
“God is Waiting There” by Esther Hizsa, 2014.
“Transfiguration” by Jaison Cianelli. Used with permission.
Quote from No Crowds Present by Mike Stewart, Fresh Wind Press, 2007.
“Tofino, untouched” by Tony Horabin. Used with permission.

© Esther Hizsa, An Everyday Pilgrim, 2014.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without permission from Esther Hizsa is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used provided there is a link to the original content and credit is given as follows: © Esther Hizsa, An Everyday Pilgrim 2013, 2014  http://www.estherhizsa.wordpress.com.