“Holy Moments”



A number of years ago, I was sharing my plight of feeling stuck in my job to a friend who had also faced his own professional valley of shadows. He gave me some advice based upon his experience and told me a couple of things that had worked for him. First of all, he suggested I refuse to get pulled into conflicts that did not concern me.  

“You have a limited amount of energy at this point, use it wisely,” he said. He told me to choose my battles and suggested that I revisit my job description and return to the duties I have been assigned and not to be drawn into territories that had not been negotiated. “But I imagine you already know these things,” he said and I agreed, hoping for more.

“What you really need to do is make sure you find your holy moments.” And with that, I nodded in relief because I knew what he meant and I knew he was exactly right.

Holy moments are those instances of sweet serendipity. They are those surprises of grace that can come in nature, music, conversations, or unlikely encounters. They are the moments when your heart opens just a bit, when you find yourself smiling, when you’re watching something lovely just as it becomes lovely. And the funny thing is they happen a lot more frequently than we expect. We just aren’t usually paying attention.

Dr. Rachel Remen writes in her book, My Grandfather’s Blessings, “According to the Kabbalah, at some point in the beginning of things, the Holy was broken up into countless sparks, which were scattered throughout the universe. There is a god spark in everyone and in everything, a sort of diaspora of goodness.”

If what she says is true, holy moments are actually all moments, and I suppose there are enlightened saints around us who know this and recognize this, but at that time in my life, I had to settle with trying to locate and realize just a few every day.

After my conversation with my friend, I’m happy to report that I did, in fact, find some holy moments and I share with you just one. It happened during the children’s sermon on Sunday morning at church, (which is probably the one time in worship when you can count on holy moments). The topic was trouble and I started the conversation by asking the children if they knew what it meant to “get in trouble.” One little boy, usually shy and often disengaged, immediately threw up his hand and began jumping in his seat.  “Yes, Billy,” I said.

 “Getting in trouble is when you get caught for something you tried to cover up.”

We all laughed, more at his enthusiasm than at his answer. But he wasn’t finished. “I’ve been in trouble,” he added. “And I got out.”

And just like that, there it was. A moment that was so truthful and honest, it became holy.

I managed that particular valley and have had a few more since then but the lessons learned from my friend and a little boy at church continue to help me find my way, out and through the difficult times.

 Holy moments, may you find one today!

You are the light of the world!

Yours,

Lynne