"Vacancies.................."

“Whoever or whatever is in your life right now has not yet been taken away from you; and, while this may sound trivial, obvious, like nothing, it really is the key to everything, the why and how and wherefore of existence. Impermanence has already rendered everything and everyone around you so deeply holy and significant and worthy of your heartbreaking gratitude. Loss has already transfigured your life into an altar”

The above is a quote encountered over at “Whiskey River” (link on my sidebar), its theme giving me thought in a number of ways. Whatever image the word “altar” might bring to mind, its roots in Hebrew suggesting “sacrifice” and, in Latin, “high”, the temple in which the Jews worshipped knew two such structures, one where indeed the priest spilt blood, another where he offered the sweet smell of incense. In either location, however, the intent was worship, it was mankind in an attempt to connect with his Creator, an emptying, of sorts, a “coming naked before God” wherein one’s soul was exposed and cleansed. We’ve come to think of it in terms of bringing our “sin” to Him; but actually, when we submit ourselves to kneel in His presence, that part of our nature has already been overcome and the act is more like conceding our “mess” unto Him, our humanity as it is, whether we’re talking hang-ups, addiction, or just plain hardheadedness. Every day we live is a different scenario, each of us prone to think ourselves entitled to ownership of all the details of our existence and often, therefore, unable to deal well with change and loss. It can be a minor altering of our routine. Sometimes the hole left behind is climatic. Help comes in surrendering all things in a prayer closet, the Holy Ghost there to “take us through the veil”, to accompany us in the next step. I’m dealing at the moment with what seems to be the end of a Wednesday evening Bible class that has fed me greatly for several years. My middle daughter is experiencing her son, an only child, leaving the nest, her home suddenly knowing nothing but memories….