The Celts define a thin place as a place where heaven and the physical world collide, one of those serendipitous territories where eternity and the mundane meet...where we see a holy glimpse of the eternal. Thin places are snatches of holy ground, tucked into the corners of the world, where, if we pay very close attention, we might just catch a glimpse of eternity.
While Celtic tradition defines physical thin places, Mary chooses to look back into her life to find snatches of time, moments really, when we sense God intersecting our world in tangible, unmistakable ways. What was so intriguing was that her thin places - the places of her life where God has been most evident, most felt, most present - were moments of hurt and hardship.
Seeing this written out in such an authentic, raw way allowed my mind to open to look for the thin places in my life. Those places that aren't always the prettiest but God shines through. Those places that aren't always the cleanest but God works anyways. Those places that aren't always the easiest but God makes Himself known in them.
One of those places for me has been in the ministry of Young Life. I am becoming more and more convinced of the messiness of human relationships. The imperfect, uncomfortable feeling of seeking to truly know and fully love another is a messy business. Quite honestly, it is generally marked by our own fears, failures and mistakes. But isn't it always oh-so worth it? It's literally my job to enter into the messy unknown of high school students lives and point { or pull or walk along side or carry } them to the gracious feet of Jesus - the only One who can truly know and fully love us.
Young Life is based on relationships which means it's based on mess. It's based on imperfection. It's based on being uncomfortable. The whole of what Young Life stands for could be considered a thin place...but would I want to be doing anything else? Would I want to be experiencing this strong, consistent, unfailing love of Jesus anywhere else? Would I want to see God's faithfulness played out in any other way? Would I want to watch the Spirit's moving in hearts somewhere other then this thin place?
I've asked these questions and more before - I've doubted, cried, had the strong urge to quit, been frustrated, experienced the sting of rejection, felt the heartbreak of teenagers as if it was my own. Young Life is not always flowers and sunshine. There are somedays where it feels so dry that I'm not sure I can go on. There are some days where it rains so hard that I feel I may never see the sun shining again. There are some days where it seems so mundane that purpose somehow disappears.
But these are the thin places - these are the seemingly dark, pointless, painful places where God cultivates growth and life and abundance. Of this I am sure. So yes, sometimes I grapple with the questions. I wrestle with the doubt. I wonder if it's all worth it. And God meets me there, in the confusion, to speak His truth over me.
He reminds me: even { or perhaps, more so } in the thin places, He is there.
