Rendezvous: Meeting the Divine in Your Own Way

Maybe the Sacred is already reaching for you, in the spaces only you recognize. Read on for a reflection on unexpected altars, inked stars, and the God who meets us there.

My youngest daughter, Lizzie, knows how to wrap her old man around her little finger. Knowing that she knows how to do this makes me no wiser for the knowing. For example, Lizzie was never confused about my opinion when it comes to tattoos. Not a fan! So, after she passed the, “no parental signature required,” age of eighteen, what did she do? Surreptitiously got a tattoo, of course! Check out how she played me in the aftermath of that decision.

“Dad, remember how, when I couldn’t sleep, I’d come and wake you up, and we’d lay out under the stars and talk until I got tired?” I nodded, while noticing that my insides felt like a warm stack of pancakes with butter melting all over them. Such a sweet memory my college girl was bringing up for me…seemingly out of nowhere!

She continued, “Well, I found a way to always remember those nights. Look!” With that she revealed a miniature night sky’s worth of tiny stars permanently inked onto her side just above her waist. Voila, the previously tattoo-hating dad teared up and hugged his daughter. I’m not saying I’m a convert. I’m still not a fan of tattoos. I’m just a big fan of that particular tattoo, on that particular little girl who lives inside my young woman-daughter. For Lizzie, a summer night’s sky is a place to rendezvous with the Sacred. The image on her side reminds me of when she would invite me along on her trysts with God.

Speaking of trysts with the Divine, every morning, I walk our dog through the wooded park behind our house. Just after we take care of the business end of things, Winnie and I turn our attention to rendezvousing with God. Our pilgrimage involves crossing over two bridges that stretch over two creeks, then taking a left and walking through a glade. At the bottom of a long hill grows a 350-year-old oak tree just above the confluence of two creeks. My Celtic friend, who is more than just a little bit of a mystic, tells me that in Ireland, they’d be inclined to build a chapel on such a spot. It would be seen as one of those places where the boundary between heaven and Earth is porous. Each morning, Winnie waits for me while I place my hand, then my forehead on the heart of that tree. Next, I call to mind the names and faces of the people that need me to take them to, what I call, “The Praying Tree.” After ten minutes or so of feeding myself, and those I care for in this way, I take Winnie home and feed her too.

This Sunday marks the third of four Sundays of Advent for people in my religious tradition. This is the season that calls to mind a God who is itching to rendezvous with each of us in our own particular way. The prophet of Advent is Isaiah, who in Chapter 49, describes God as a smitten lover who has tattooed each of our names on the palm of his hand. Any disciple of the inner life knows that contemplation or mindfulness requires commitment and discipline. In this season, and particularly on this Sunday, it’s time to remember that the disciplines of the inner life are nothing more than the disciplines required to fall in love…again and again. This is the time of year to remember that God doesn’t just love the human race, God loves the unrepeatable, once-in-an-eternity mystery of you! You’ve got God wrapped around your little finger. According to the great mystics of every tradition, God awaits the rendezvous of your unique choosing, according to your unique way of receiving and giving love to the one who has loved you from before all time.

Dialogue: Use these to dialogue with those in your life or share with Dr. Tom and the Sunday Morning Cafe community in the comments below.

• What is your preferred landscape of the sacred?

• Can you recall a time when you felt God’s presence? Can you step back into that experience sometime this week to see it again, hear it again, smell it again, touch it again, and savor it in your heart? Can you either tell that story to someone who has ears to hear it, or journal it?

• If your spirituality has a more secular flavor, can you recall a time when you were moved by Beauty, or Love? Once that experience comes to mind step back into it to hear it again, smell it again, see it again, touch it again, and savor it in your heart. Can you tell that story to someone who has ears to hear it, or journal it?

• G.K. Chesterton once said that God did not create a whole world full of daisies. God created one daisy, and fell in love with it. So much so, that God had to create another, then another, and then another, until eventually the whole world was covered in daisies…no two of them exactly the same. What is your reaction when you hear mystics like Julian of Norwich say that God is totally smitten by you in this way?

• Would you be open to falling in love again? What would it take for you to believe this is a possibility for you?

Please share with the SMC community your thoughts and/or reflections in the comments below.