The Practical Disciple

The other morning before work I was out hanging a load of laundry on my clothes line. (Yes, I really do have a clothes line.)  The line is in a small area next to our garage surrounded by a privacy fence.  The ground is covered with cement paving stones.  It’s a rather stark area punctuated with odds and ends of lawn gear and bicycles.  As I was hanging my laundry I was soaking in the morning sights, sounds and sensations.  A couple male song birds (titmouse) had rushed past in an angry territorial squabble. A female lagged along behind watching to see who would be the victor.  Dragonflies flitted about doing whatever it is dragonflies do in the morning.  High overhead I watched Kites (not the kid’s toy, but rather small grey hawks) making very high lazy circles.  I see these Kites sitting in a tree in my backyard in the mornings frequently.  It was the first time I ever saw them on the move.  I was intrigued.  They were very high up.  I couldn’t figure out what they were doing because they hunt insects, lizards, and small snakes.  I didn’t think they could possibly find them up so high.  May be they just like riding the wind.  I don’t know.

About that time I noticed how the wind was swirling about the many plants in my backyard.  I was struck by how hit and miss it was.  That started me to thinking about micro-climates.  Micro-climates are small pockets on the landscape that have their own tiny climate, for example, a cool moist place under a shrub or a dry area on the south side of a rocky outcropping.  These micro-climates are tiny oases on the landscape.  As I was thinking about the micro-climates in my backyard, I realized I was standing in one, a spiritual microclimate.  My little laundry area is an oasis of peace.  I love going out to hang a load.  I take in the beauty of nature, often times pray, or recruit one of my children so I can have a few minutes of one-on-one time.  What I have discovered is that my stark little laundry area that is maybe only 15 feet by 25 feet, is infinitely high.  When I enter there my heart and mind look up and everything else has a way of coming into its proper perspective.

Do you have spiritual micro-climates in your life?  Do you have places where seeing, feeling and hearing God is just so much easier than other places?  There is a Celtic tradition that refers to these microclimates as “thin places”.  I believe the Celts specifically were referring to locations, like a certain valley or mountain.  I think more broadly than that.  I do have some locations where I seem to just walk into God’s presence.  My outdoor sit spots have all been that way and I used to love a hospital chapel that frequently served as my sanctuary.  A climate though is a set of conditions that come together.  A spiritual micro-climate may be rooted in a place, but for some people a thin place is a certain activity or even another person.  Some people find themselves close to God when they run, create art or sing.  Some people have a mentor or friend that just seems to emanate Christ’s presence.  What are your spiritual micro-climates?  What conditions make getting a glimpse of God so much more favorable?  

If you don’t have any spiritual micro-climates that are regularly a part of your life, then cultivate a few.  Ask God to help you find a spot or activity that allows you to tarry in his presence unharassed by the world.  Regularly, take a few moments to sit in that micro-climate.  You need a few oases for your soul.  May God’s peace come upon you and bless you richly in your micro-climates.