Holy Spirit

Last night after going to the musical "Abilene 1906" and dinner at Rosa's at 10:30, Tim and I went by to see how Jack Maxwell's sculpture was coming along. Today is the official dedication and we knew that the sculpture was arriving by truck and that people would be there working on it. We didn't know that about 100 people thought the same thing. There were big spotlights and a crane holding up the sculpture...men trying to fit the pieces into the right places...others ready to weld and others waiting to finish the stone work when the big sculpture was in place.
We got out of our car and started to walk over. I looked and caught sight of the wings of the angels in the light. I was overwhelmed with the Spirit. This was definitely the work of the Spirit. This is a sculpture of Jacob's dream...with the angels climbing the ladder to heaven. It is 32 feet high. The area surrounding this 32 foot high sculpture is stone. The stones are placed at all different angles....some have words on them. There will a pool with running water. The pool is large enough to baptize someone.
I can't wait until this space isn't so crowded. I want to spend time there. I want to lie down on the stones and look at the stars and hear the water and see those angel wings in the moonlight.

Sacred space.

Are there any sacred places in your life?

Sacred space can become sacred by an event, sometimes a tragedy. Ground Zero is sacred space. The sight where Kennedy was shot in Dallas. The hotel balcony where Martin Luther King, Jr. lost his life. The hill on the side of I-20 where we lost Brody. Sometimes that sight is sacred because of joy. The bend in the creek where there is a deep pool of cool water where my father-in-law's family was baptized. The spot where your husband proposed. The place where you suddenly saw Jesus as real and not negotiable.
I have some sacred spaces in my life. Camp WaMaVa. All of Camp WaMaVa...even though the theology taught there now is very different from mine....it still is the place where I saw Jesus and a way to live that was compelling and that there was no turning around. The sanctuary at Highland is sacred space. The country church in Alabama that nurtured my mother's faith.

This space at ACU fits into another category. Just like a cathedral is built to awe and enthrall, this structure is meant to pull us up into God's lap and whisper sweet things in our ears. Jacob's Dream has been a work of the Spirit since Jack first starting thinking about it.
Recently a huge, lit sidewalk has been built around ACU and it has been one of the best projects that the school has undertaken. It has given students, faculty, staff, and neighbors a way to exercise in a safe place. I see older couples walking, holding hands. I see people running and biking. I see so much conversation. That sidewalk is making life better here and now. It is drawing people together.
Jacob's Dream is drawing us upward...towards the heavens. To stop and feel God's presence. To feel the wind from his angels' wings. To raise up praise to the heavens. To whisper prayers. To talk quietly with each other about the Father. To see beauty in the gifts of those around us. And to wonder at creation. The stars. The moon. The clouds. The sunrises. The sunsets. To contemplate what water means to us.
Jacob's Dream will form us closer to the image of God. I will spend time here. I need God's presence. I want to feel it.