Wholly Holy

Religion Philosophy Blog Nosh Magazine

Originally posted on Christa Allan’s blog.

“The holy goes on, no matter how many balls you fling at it.”   Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott

I suppose living to the age of a highway speed limit has caused me to redefine holy. In my youth, now defined as any age a neighborhood speed limit ago, I’d define holy in strictly religious terms…you know, the Baltimore Catcheism holies.

Today, I’d define it in the seemingly more commonplace…sun risings and settings, moon shadings and lightings,  gentle smiles and crushing hugs, tears of joy and sighs of sadness.  Holy is watching my precious
almost three-year-old granddaughter Emma as she studies crisp brown leaves tumble over the pebbled gray sidewalk. The breeze of the autumn morning moves wisps of her silky hair across her little apple cheeks.
Her sapphire  eyes scrutinize the shuffles of orange and brown leaves dancing over her feet.  Her little pudgy hand stretches out to grab one. She closes it in her fist, its brown crumples like flat burned crumbs.  Eyes wide with surprise, she unfolds her hand, turns to me, solemn yet aware that a great mystery has transpired.  She breathes in, lifts her tiny face to me, reaches out her arm and shows me, “Wook, Gammy. Broken.”

A holy moment?

Yes. Oh, most definitely, yes.

Editor’s pick by Heather A. Goodman at L’Chaim. I chose this post because it looks at how ordinary things in our lives are infused with the sacred. Her words made me realize that God is always working to restore good on earth even while I see evil and death and sorrow in every corner. Christa Allan is wife of one, mother of five, Grammy of three, and teacher of 125-ish annually. She muses about ‘riting, reading, ‘rythmatic, and grace.

You can find the original post here.

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2 Comments to “Wholly Holy”

  1. The simplicity of this post is what is striking. Had it been me writing it, it would have rambled on for pages, but that would defeat the point.

    Brilliant. Open your eyes and you will find Him. Everywhere.

    Thank you for sharing this with us, Christa.

  2. I could close my eyes and just sigh and see the moment she shared. Perfect.

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