Sacred Spaces

Last week I posted two – of many random and not so random – things on Facebook. One is this video/song by India Arie and the other is my own little words of encouragement for the day.

Words of Encouragement: No victims … At any time you can decide this is not the life I signed up for … Not what I envisioned … Not my happy place … and work earnestly to shift gears and change directions!!!! #ichoose

In preparation for a school project, a classmate and I visited a church today. This was the first time in my life that I experienced the things I did in that church. The music, the dance, the rituals, the wardrobe, the congregants … all things sacred, special and true to me in one place. But the most profound part of the service for me was the story of an encounter with a homeless man told by one of the ministers, followed by an invitation for the man to sing a song. He sung “I Won’t Complain.” As he sang and as I cried the way I knew I needed to on this day, I thought of many, many things. My mind meditated on how the ministers in this church did what many are afraid and/or unwilling to do: reach out to those who we consider to be so unlike us. My thoughts ventured to this man with this amazing voice singing in church when he’d spent so many previous mornings sleeping outside. And I thought about the power of community, healing and hope.

I didn’t go to this church today expecting much other than to complete a part of my class assignment. But what I gained and what I experienced was so much more than I could have ever imagined and everything that I needed. All of this is not by chance. As I looked at the man singing today I knew that in him I reside, and in me he resides … we are all connected. And even in attending church today, in consideration of decisions I’ve made this year, and even how I am choosing to spend the rest of my day I am continually reminded that:  At any time you can decide this is not the life I signed up for … Not what I envisioned … Not my happy place … and work earnestly to shift gears and change directions. We are very well aware that we have little choice in what circumstances are presented to us in life, but we ALWAYS have a choice in how we choose to respond. Sometimes we find excuses – children, partners, spouses, time, money, resources – to prolong becoming we know we are destined to become or to delay doing the things we long to do, but today I was reminded that there is always an agency of choice in my life. I can and will choose life. I choose joy. I choose service. I choose sacred relationships. I choose happiness. I choose to bounce back. I choose not to play the victim. I choose to persevere. I choose to celebrate. I choose to FORGIVE. I choose SACRED, AFFIRMING SPACES that honor who I am and all that I am to become. I choose …