August 26, 2025

Hi Friends,

“Eugene was always off on some adventure, and he often pulled a friend along with him, Jerry Olsen was a constant companion during high school. Jerry was the barber’s son, his father an imposing presence who chain-smoked cigarettes while chatting with customers and snipping sharp scissors round their heads, their hair falling like leaves. Like the butcher shop (where Eugene grew up), the Olsen barbershop was a rough and human place. To Eugene, this made it holy.” (A Burning In My Bones; Winn Collier)

Is there holy ground in your life? Do you recognize it?

Moses didn’t. He saw a strange sight, a bush that burned without burning up, and went out of his way to investigate, little knowing he was about to have his life’s work revealed to him. Jacob didn’t. Exhausted from a long day of running for his life, he lay down and put his head on a stone pillow, little realizing that he chose to sleep at the base of the stairway to heaven. Two despairing disciples on the road to Emmaus didn’t. Overcome with grief and loss, they walked those miles with Jesus, not recognizing him until he broke bread and vanished from their midst.

What does holy ground look like? That’s our first problem. You see, it’s hidden in the ordinary stuff of everyday, like a burning bush or a place to sleep or a long walk to clear your head. We need to learn to see holy ground and, honestly, to be content with the fact that we usually perceive it after the fact. Remember those disciples’ words, after Jesus had disappeared? “Were not our hearts burning within us?

This past weekend at Camp Teepee Pole, I was on holy ground numerous times. It took the form of loving kids and engaging with them when I really wanted to read a book I had brought along. It was a late night conversation with a friend who needed advice and encouragement. It was meeting some new friends and, with those of you who were there, inviting them into the circle of our lives and relationships. It was a relatively brief conversation with a new friend who told me that he was sure it was not an accident that he had come to the camp and that he had many more questions he wanted to discuss with me. Returning home on Sunday night, I found more holy ground as I listened at length to a friend who has just been diagnosed with what could be a terminal disease if he can’t get a life-saving transplant, telling me about the anxiety that has overcome him, and then receiving comfort from the scripture and other words I shared with him.

We must assume that pretty much anything can be holy ground for us. That leads us to the second problem we face. Upon finding the holy ground, will we take our shoes off and engage with what God is doing there? I hope so. You see, throughout history, the people who have become most holy have learned to recognize holy ground and holy moments and have chosen to live in them, whatever that might mean. They set aside their agendas, their journeys, their pain and confusion and then responded in the moment to the God who beckoned them. They did so by whatever means was appropriate.

So, go about your life this week, but keep your senses tuned. God is with us. Holy ground is everywhere. And, when you find it, don’t forget to take your shoes off.

Blessings!

Doug