Our Lenten theme this year within our church is "HOLY GROUND" Each week we will hear about a journey that is on Holy ground.
We all have walked on some holy ground in our life time. In my 35 years of nursing, I had the privilege of walking on some pretty holy ground myself, some of which I would like to share with you.
From my years from nurses training to my retirement, I was in many labour rooms and journeyed with numerous mothers and dads as they went through labour and as their children were being born. Some labour was short but others were painfully long. I do not know about you, but I would have called that holy ground.
You too have experienced those times when a baby was born and you stood in awe of God's wonder and miracles. It may have been your children, grand children birth, or that of a close friend. Those, in my eyes, are times we were standing on Holy Ground.
I also had the privilege of walking with the dying. The last few days and hours of a person's life when all systems seem to be failing and families huddle together to hold hands, weep and hold each other as their loved one closes their eyes and the slips into the Creator's everlasting hands, that to me also is walking on Holy Ground.
Many of you have walked on that holy ground as well. No one needs to tell you how important that time was for you and your family to be together because you remember only too well those steps you took on Holy Ground. The beginning of Life and the end of life both are holy ground in my eyes.
Being a farmer's wife I also heard much about pot holes - you know those wet spots that you wanted to seed and just couldn't. You would work around each pot hole hoping to dry it out so that you would be able to seed a little closer- this usually were you got stuck and we all knew what happened from then on. I need not say more!!!
Life also offers us many pot holes; we have illness, divorce, job loss, friends moving away, children leaving home, lonely evenings, long sleepless nights. We can call all these pot holes along the way of life Holy Ground. Our creator never promised us roses without thrones, no sunshine without rain, but he always promises to walk with us - no matter what pot hole we are trying to work around.
Lent is a journey on holy ground. We recall Jesus kneeling in prayer in the garden. His journey from birth to death was all made on holy ground. He made this journey out of love for us.
As we walk our Lenten journey we are to be ever mindful of the sacrifice that was made on our behalf- by no means an easy journey but one made out of love for us.
Someone once said, "Life is sacred in its being born, in its living and in its dying." Therefore our whole life journey is truly a walk on "Holy Ground."
"Today's journey will begin when have healed from yesterdays potholes of life."
Margaret Anne Yost nursed for 35 years. Returning back to school I completed classes from the Red River College in the areas of Gerontology, Bereavement, Death and Dying. For twelve years I worked in bereavement support at a funeral home.
At present I am employed as an Interim Parish Worker at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Melville Sask. I also enjoy my role as homemaker, wife, mother and grandmother.
