This was the gorgeous view I saw from the window during my retreat. With much gratitude to my hosts.
I recently spent a week away in silence, seeking to clear my head and find my way back to an awareness of God after a particularly intense period. I am grateful to have had the time to do this and the gift of somewhere beautiful to stay.
In prayer, I had a rare experience of deep peace; I felt safe, held and nurtured, I felt like my inner being was resting within the womb of God. I later reflected on Psalm 139:13-15 and saw my inner being in a process of still being formed:
God keeps forming my inward parts,
She knits me together in her womb.
My frame is not hidden from her
As I am being made in secret,
Intricately woven in the depths of my being.
I believe that this total intimacy with the divine is true for all of us, whether we feel it or not, God holds all things within herself – yes God lives in us, but it is also true that we live in God in whom we ‘live and move and have our being’ (Acts 17:28). Not just human beings, but all the other beings, and even all matter, dwell within God and thus are sacred and deserving of our deepest respect and love.