麻豆社

Good morning.

We live near a little patch of woodland. Walking there with our three small children, my habit of rushing around, is exposed, coming into direct conflict with the ways that the kids experience the woods.

I noticed recently that I spend a lot of time on these walks asking the children to hurry up, moving them along with a promise that we can pause again at the next log, that there might be more bluebells around the corner, that there鈥檚 something nice at home for tea.

And so I determined to have one walk in which I didn鈥檛 say 鈥渃ome on鈥� or 鈥渉urry up鈥� at all, but allowed us to meander through the woods at child鈥檚 pace. I didn鈥檛 realise when I promised this, what a challenge I was setting myself. It was excruciating 鈥� and also beautiful.

Many Quakers seek spiritual sustenance in the Bible. One of my favourite verses comes when Moses hears God calling to him from within a burning bush. 鈥淭ake off your shoes鈥�, God says, 鈥渂ecause the place where you are standing is holy ground鈥�.

I love this reminder that the holy and the sacred are not somewhere else, somewhere different and special, but right here. We can hear the voice of God in birdsong and child鈥檚 play, if we only stop to listen.

So may we find a moment today to pause, to resist the onward pressure to hurry. Take off our shoes (metaphorically if not literally); get grounded, get grateful. Whether in the woods, at work, waiting in traffic, or for the kettle to boil, let us notice that we are here already, standing on holy ground.

Thank you friends.