Thin Places: Mundane & Extraordinary

I've been told that Irish (Celtic) Christians have a phrase for a place or time when God seems to be exceptionally close:  a "thin place."  The idea is that the separation between the physical world and the spiritual world is "thin"... and in that place we can see more clearly with spiritual eyes the realities of God.

I like that phrase.  It helps explains those times in my life when I've sensed the presence of God in palpable ways.  Like when I was singing worship songs with thousands of other Christians from many, many nations and many, many different languages at an international conference.  That was truly a taste of heaven.  Or a time like our wedding day... when our African friend, Sam, spontaneously led a dance at the end of the ceremony, and I had a sense that Jesus was joining in the dance.  Or the time when I was faced with the very real possibility that I had ovarian cancer, but I such a sense of peace from God.

I usually associate thin places with extraordinary occurrences, like the ones I mentioned above.  Yet today I've had a sense, all day, of being in a thin place.  A place of simply knowing the extravagant grace of God in the mundane.  Today I was not singing with thousands, or marking a significant event, or facing a big challenge.  In fact, it was an exceptionally average day... packing a lunch for Marsh, cleaning the house, grocery shopping, catching up on emails, talking to Jenn about her job hunt.  But it crossed my mind this afternoon that I felt the grace of God in an unordinary way all day.  I felt, even in these simple tasks, full with the wonder of a God who loves me extravagantly.  Thank you, Lord, for thin places...