What is holy ground for creative and spiritual people living in New York City? In Redeemer’s most recent writing workshop, we discussed having a special place carved out for God and for our writing.
Our apartments are cramped. Our lives are full of distractions. If we don’t carve out time and space for the things that really matter to us, it’s likely we’ll continually push them aside and never get around to them.
In the story of Moses and the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-12), God commands Moses: "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." God invites us to take off our shoes and encounter the Holy. In New York City, we can encounter God on the subway, in Central Park, and on our rooftops—but we have to pay attention; we have to open our eyes. Intentionally seeking out and creating sacred spaces, where we can read the Word of God and cry out to the Lord, helps us focus and tune in to God’s presence.
Setting up a room of one’s own, as Virginia Woolf might say, may also give us the impetus to write. New York City doesn’t always lend itself to quiet, private spaces but we can seek out a corner of our bed, a quiet nook in the library, or a cozy spot by the window of a coffee shop—our own sacred spaces for writing. Always writing in the same place and only writing in that place is a bit Pavlovian: over time, it triggers an automatic reflex to go into writing mode.
Where do you encounter the Holy? Do you have a sacred space carved out for quiet time with God? For your writing?
Writing prompt:
Write about your favorite sacred space in New York City.
—Stephanie Nikolopoulos
Stephanie is a leader for the Writers Vocation group and helped edit our literary magazine, RedeemerWrites.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Great writers' fellowship meeting. I will take it with me and try to be more in tune with space and grace in NY!
ReplyDelete