Here’s another great Kairos Moment–this one from Craig Elliott
Since your sermon that spoke of kairos moments a few weeks ago, I’ve been composing a letter about my thoughts on time. After all, time is part of the kairos thing. But in the process, my spirit won out over my mind as I was drawn over and over to the call of the “thin place”. So, I decided to send you something from the spirit. I don’t know if it is the Scotsman in me, or just the truth in the phrase, but I decided instead to tell you about my thin place.
The Celts believed that there were physical places that made it easier to commune with the spirit. I believe that Park City is full of these places. Part of this is due to the physical characteristics of a place and part is created by the people. As I thought about where my thin place was, it became completely clear that it was in my midst. My kitchen counter.
Yes, it is like many other counters. It is made of particle board and plastic laminate, but that’s not what makes it special. The counter sits in the middle of a house built with the hands of friends and family. It is situated in a way that I can see the mountains and hear the sound of water rush by in the stream outside. More importantly, it is the place where time stands still.
The kitchen counter is where time stands still in the moment of joy from the gathering of friends and family. Still as Emily and I discuss all of the important decisions that are made by husband and wife. Still in the pure joy of drawing, creating a piece of architecture from only experience and thought. Yes this thin place is real. It’s not always quiet and it’s not always clean, but it is real, and when I long for that experience of a kairos moment, the kitchen counter is where I go.
I don’t believe that you can create a thin place, nor own one. It just is. It is where you are when you are touched by the spirit. What if your thin place was with you at all times? Maybe, I can take a little piece of my kitchen counter with me everyday.
