This month, we’re talking about talking with God (commonly known as praying). Last week,  Rich Dixon talked about Daniel’s prayer space. 

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Today I’ll describe a place that’s meaningful to me.

Like Daniel’s prayer room, it’s an actual, physical location. More importantly, it’s a metaphor for a space I can visit when I’m struggling to talk to Jesus.

I originally encountered this spot on my handcycle during a time of tremendous internal turmoil. I stopped for a drink at an apparently random location. I rested beside a riverside path and experienced an unfamiliar sense of tranquility.

Later, as I wrote about the experience, I came to believe Jesus prepared this location and guided me there. He provided a tangible symbol for the connections I’d crushed in the years following my injury. I came to believe it was holy ground.

It was His way of helping me talk to Him about how to love Him, others, and myself.

Of course, this spot wasn’t special because God listened better here. He simply created a space that reminded me to stop, tune out the chaos, and finally begin to hear that still, small voice whispering in the trees.

So I’d like to describe my space by the river. Perhaps you’ll find it meaningful as well.

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I can sit in the warm sunshine, or in the cool shade beneath a dense canopy of trees, solitary and isolated from the world around. Here – I’m not the guy in the wheelchair, the guy with the broken body and broken heart who alienated nearly everyone who tried to help.

Here – I’m aware of the truth. Jesus holds me in the hollow of His hands. He loves me and forgives me.

I’m reminded that I don’t have to be good enough. I can love and forgive myself. I’m reminded that when I leave, when I crank up the hill around the corner, I’ll be okay.

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Next time: the path and the river.