Sacred Space

When we visited our house when looking to buy it, I took one look at the woods over the hill behind the Z Shack and said, "I would love to make a prayer path back here, to just walk back in these woods and pray to Jesus." We've lived in this house six years and I've yet to create it ... for a couple of reasons. One, I've mowed down the area back there countless times, but nature has the edge on me and I just can't keep up with it. Weeds, new trees (not to mention poison ivy), they grow so fast back there I just can't stay on top of it. And two, there are supposed to be rattlesnakes back there, so I don't want to stumble across one of those. As a result, there is no prayer path in the back woods. As a matter of fact, we don't really use those woods for anything except collecting brush or dead trees for our fire pit.

Now there is a corner flower bed in the front of my yard near the driveway. When we first moved in, it had a tiny deteriorating wooden fence around it, few perennials some shrubs and trees. Since we've moved in, I have torn down the fence, pruned the bushes and trees and added azaleas, rose bushes, peonies, chrysanthemums and daffodils. I've also added annuals like zinnias, pansies and gerbera daisies. I mulch it every year with fresh pine straw. I weed it every day. I've added decorative cockle seashells. And I've placed two gray Adirondack chairs there for me and Brad. I use those chairs every morning when the weather is nice to do my Bible devotion and Brad will be out there every Sunday morning practicing his sermon. It's become a sacred space of worship.

So while my plans to change the back hill into a reverent place didn't work out, the bed out front has. It took work: weeding, tidying, mulching, planting and replanting to make it into what we wanted it to be. We didn't let nature get the better of us. We worked at it.

It's the same as marriage. If you want marriage to be a sacred place, you need to work at it. Tidying, planting, replanting, pruning and most definitely keeping the weeds out. Don't let the world get the better of you in this. And believe us, it will try. It will try to steal your time, your morals, your love and your patience. Stay on top of it. Be faithful in prayer and Scripture reading. Go to our Father for guidance. Be loving and forgiving. It is absolutely worth the time and effort it takes. Just don't ever make the mistake of thinking it doesn't. Make your marriage a sacred space of worship to glorify the Lord.

Discussion: Do you have a sacred space where you have some devotional time with the Lord? Did it take any work to get it to be that sacred place of worship? What do you think of the comment that marriage takes work?

Prayer: Lord, may we always seek our time in our day to praise and worship You and to seek Your guidance. And, Father, we pray our marriage is also a sacred space of worship. Help us to stay on top of keeping it that way. In Christ Jesus, Amen.