Seeking that one special place

I realized that, thus far in my life, I have lived in areas which are very attractive to vacationers, the “tourists” among us.

+ I was born in Helsingborg, Sweden, a lovely cosmopolitan city. I left in 1959 to immigrate to the United States with my parents, and returned while on sabbatical in 2009. In a few weeks I will return to visit relatives and see more achingly lovely vistas and equally beautiful extended family.

+ I was raised in the small town of Brooklyn, CT where every August the town atrracts many to what is billed as the “oldest agricultural fair in the United States.” This year celebrates 176 years of the Brooklyn Fair, with animal and food exhibits, pony racing, amusement rides, musical acts, fireworks and more.

+ College in Allentown, PA and moving to Lancaster County, PA taught me how to live with Amish buggies driving on the road - and all who stop to gawk at them.

+ I graduated from the Lutheran Seminary at Gettysburg, now known as United Lutheran Seminary. While we as students would walk to class between the buildings on seminary ridge, tourists would stop us and say: “Hey, where is the battlefield?” to which some would say: “you are standing on it,” walk away, and shake their heads. Had these students had pastoral care class yet? One shudders to think about it!

+ Most recently, I have lived in New Hampshire’s White Mountains for over 25 years. With beautiful mountains and lakes, this is THE tourist mecca for skiers, hikers, rock climbers, campers, boaters, second home owners, bicyclists, bikers, essentially all outdoor enthusiasts. There are Winnebagos, camper vans, mega-size pickup trucks hauling campers, license plates from all corners of the US (and, until recently, Canada), as well as people from throughout the world. It is fascinating, hectic, and crazy.

But what is good about all this ruckus is that it keeps one open and easy going. Or, as my late husband used to say, one must “embrace chaos!” You have to be flexible (which way to avoid traffic today?), plan summer grocery shopping for mid-week (otherwise face empty shelves since new orders haven’t come in yet), and practice patience (why are eight people standing in line for one purchase at Walmart -couldn’t the 7 not paying stand somewhere else and lessen the congestion in line?)

People come here and other notable places to seek sanity, peace, recreation, nature, and —to make memories. Many seek to unwind and re-create in the outdoors while hiking, camping with others, visiting family or friends, discovering the White Mountain National Forest, or traveling to the top of Mount Washington which, at 6,289 feet, is the highest mountain in the northeast United States. It is also the most prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River.

All of this reminds me of a phrase used in Scripture, a place referred to as a broad place. Some examples:

Psalm 18:19 - God brought me out into a broad place; God delivered me because God delighted in me.

Psalm 31:7-8 - I will exult and rejoice in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have taken notice of my adversities and have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; you have set my feet in a broad place.

Job 36:16 - God also allured you out of distress into a broad place where there was no constraint, and what was set on your table was full of fatness.

This broad place to where God delivers can be described in several ways. It can be seen as large, spacious, wide-open, and safe. It is a place of less hindrance, worry or fear. It is a place where one can know hope, healing, stability, and joy. It is an oasis in the wilderness. A place of sustenance and renewal.

You may have your designated broad place in your own life. That one spot that makes everything right. It may be a place that has running streams, lake water, or ocean waves. But, when you are there, you know it’s where you need to be. For years we took our young boys and spent several weeks on Matinicus Island, Maine. Matinicus is one of the last year round lobstering communities, 20+ miles out into the Atlantic Ocean from Rockland harbor. You travel by small plane, water taxi or ferry to get there. There are no stores, but very innovative islanders who go out of their way to help vacationers get through living with less. Every year I would deeply hunger for this island of respite, like the deer pants for water in Psalm 42:1 - As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.

Which got me thinking - could all this zeal for a special place, the seeking of that perfect space, actually be an inner hunger for the holy and for that the holy desires for us? We who are world-weary, worn, frustrated with politics, afraid of the future, tossed to and fro by the whims of our current president, or bounced to one crisis after another? We who see both the greed of some and the suffering of others? We who admit to our priviledge, yet seek justice and safety for all in our land? Do we not each seek that broad place?

So, this summer, I’ve resolved to see the longing in the vacationers who travel here. Not the traffic, not the store lines, not the obstuctions to my life. I’m pretty sure we all share the same desire for peace, renewal and hope which the beauty and stillness of creation offers.

As we better understand each other’s humanity, may we discern what unifies us. May we respect each other more than we lose our temper or grit our teeth. May we practice kindness when faced with questions that are, in some ways, questionable. May we be guided by the One who make all things new, offering a broad place for all. It’s not your space or mine, but God’s broad place we can each cherish.

What does this say for all the nations who fight over land, annihilating each other and causing desperation and severe brokenness? What does this say to those who see others as trespassers, vagrants, scum, or the often coined word of today, “illegals?” We hear the chants of “not in my back yard, not in my community, not in my country” - yet that is not the biblical witness of a broad place.

Finally, John Lennon wrote the song “Imagine” in 1971. His words strike me as so profound. (I’m enough of a boomer to say this) The verses include: Imagine all the people living for today, living life in peace, sharing all the world and then the chorus:

You may say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one I hope someday you’ll join us - and the world will be as one.

I hope you join me in the dreaming, the openness, the gratitude for the broadness of holy mercy and compassion, and, in the sharing of it in backyards, communities and our country. Imagine, just imagine.

PS Here is the broad place which I call home. That’s a summer photograph of Mount Washington in the distance, taken from a vista in a community park in North Conway, NH. Incidentally, there is a bench at this viewpoint to take it all in. Imagine.

.