Terry Hershey - Sanctuary: Creating a Space for Grace in Your Life

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2015 Terry Hershey

All rights reserved.

Cover art credit: iStock/Rach27

eBook ISBN: 978-0-8294-4265-6

Based on the print edition: 978-0-8294-4264-9

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014959303

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In the latter years of her life , in the backyard of her home in northern Florida, my grandmother had a porch swing. She liked to sit and swing and hum old church hymns such as Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me. I can still see her there, wearing a white scarf over her head, a concession to chemotherapys unrelenting march. When as a young adult I visited her, she would always ask me to sit with her on the swing for a spell. She would pat my leg and call me darlin.

As long as my grandmother livedand in spite of her painthere was always a place for me on the swing. If I were asked to explain grace, I would paint the picture of my grandmothers swing. There, I never had to deliberate or explain or worry, regardless of the weight I carried. The porch swingmy grandmothers presencebestowed grace without conditions.

And I am here today because of that porch swing. I am here today because of a sanctuary.

Everyone has a sanctuary, if only in the mind. Even if we cant say what it is, we know of its power. It is a place where we feel grounded, unhurried, and renewed. We go there whenever we can, which never seems often enough. Or thats what we tell ourselves.

A sanctuary is a place that restores us, replenishes us, nourishes us. In this renewal, we are reminded, once again, of what really is important.

We are wired to need grounding and renewal. Yes, I believe its in our emotional DNA. So youd think creating sanctuary would be at the top of our priorities. But theres the sticky wicket. We end up making choiceswith our time and with our daysthat are detrimental to our emotional and spiritual well-being.

If I had my druthers, Id put my pen down (yes, I still write with a fountain pen) and invite you to take a walk with me. Were not going far. Off to the side of my garden and tucked under a maple tree is a swing. Its for cogitating and sitting for a spell.

I can tell the weeks when I do not get my recommended dose of sanctuaryor in my case, garden time. And I can tell when I do take my sanctuary time because it restores me; its a dose of grace mainlined straight to the heart.

In her book The Sabbath World, Judith Shulevitz quotes a lovely teaching by the eighteenth-century master the Vilna Gaon. Consider the mystery surrounding the first Shabbat. Why did God stop, anyway? God stopped to show us that what we create becomes meaningful only once we stop creating it and start remembering why it was worth creating in the first place. Shulevitz closes by saying, We have to remember to stop because we have to stop to remember.

We stop to create sanctuary. In sanctuary, we let life inevery bit of life, wholeheartedly, whether that is grief or sadness or bewilderment or gladness or joy.

We make space in which to see and to be seen. We make space to welcome. We make space to be Sabbath in a world of disquiet, disruption, and misgiving. We make space to offer comfort or reprieve or hope.

But how? How do we make that space? Where and when? If you picked up this little book, you probably feel the need for sanctuary. Maybe you have already stumbled upon it. Then again, maybe you need it but cant find it or dont know how to create it. In the chapters to come, we will explore sanctuary together. My hope is that by the end of this journey you will have found and reclaimed sanctuary where it already exists. Also, you will have purposeful ideas about how to create sanctuary right where you live, now.

But I have to warn you. Our journey together of creating sanctuary places will require a shift in the way you think about the concept of sanctuary. It will mean a new way of seeing. Because sanctuary is not a program to add to our to-do list. Sanctuary is a way of life. We may not be good at it or do it right, or we may give ourselves grief for lacking the willpower to commit and carry through. But who convinced us in the first place that those elements are essential? Is it possible to experience sanctuary when we arent very successful or correct or strong willed?

For now it is enough to accept this invitation to begin a journeya journey to create and embrace your sanctuary places, and to visit them often. You will be glad you did.