An Invitation to a Thin Place

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.” – Psalm 19:1-2 ESV

Natural settings that allow a view of the horizon from a distance, where the sky is on panoramic display, have throughout time been hallowed places to commune with God. In ancient Celtic Christian tradition such locations were referred to as “thin places,” where heaven and earth meet and the spiritual and natural world merge as one.

God has chosen to speak to His creation and mark both present and prophesied future interactions with us through the movements of the celestial bodies. Before the invention of electric light and the 24/7 frenzy of modern civilization, life was regulated and celebrated by the rising and setting of the sun and the moon. The darkened night, free from artificial illumination, filled the expanse above with the wonder of countless stars and constellations.

Today thin places are often found in escaping to a rural or wilderness settings where the horizon is in view and the splendor of earth meeting sky touches something deep within our primordial being. It is there we see God’s glory and hear the timeless whisper of His voice beckoning us into his secret counsels. Where have you experienced a thin place?

 (This picture was taken as the moon was setting over the Jemez Mountain Range west of Santa Fe, NM, after the super blood wolf moon eclipse of January 21, 2019.)