2- Second Encounter

This afternoon on my walk to work, I passed two light- blue and tan uniformed high school girls giggling and gossiping with eachother.  A normal sight.  However when they reached the corner, one of them looked into our yard, ritually crossed herself, kissed her fingers and just kept walking.  I had an inner chuckle thinking about when I was in high school and my friend Kelly would interrupt a conversation to kiss her fingers and touch the roof of her car every time we went through a yellow light on the drive to school or passed a cemetery.  

As I continued my stroll in the spring heat, I pondered this young girl's action, wondering how religious or devoted she really was.  Obviously she was brought up Catholic and had been taught these little rituals of reverence (oh, by the way, we have a shrine to the Virgin Mary in our front yard-- well, the owners do).  Then one of the military guards who sits in front of a rich person's house with a rifle asked me why I was walking on such a hot day.  I smiled, telling him I liked the sun and then I forgot all about the girl.  She came back to mind, however, on my trek back home.  In my mind I started having an imaginary conversation with her.  I asked her why she crossed herself and kissed her fingers.  Her imaginary self told me that she was blessing the Virgin Mary and God and recognizing that a shrine was a place of holiness.  I nodded to her and then shared with her the Scripture about when we believe in Christ, our bodies become temples of the Holy Spirit, so just imagine crossing yourself and kissing your fingers all day long because YOU are that holy place where He dwells!  That's when I gasped.  All of a sudden I had an instant revelation of how much I do not reverence the Holy Spirit who lives inside of me.  I can go a whole day complaining, daydreaming, thinking about Him, asking Him to bless my food, etc, but how often do I take time to stop and recognize His holiness within me? Ew.  I felt like both Peter and Isaiah when, in the presence of holiness, exploded with "I'm not worthy! I'm unclean!" sentiments.  For a split second I was taken into heaven before the throne where all the angels cry 'HOLY!' and the elders throw their crowns.  Powerful.

I often make my living relationship with the Living God a common thing.  I take for granted that I am saved by grace through faith and that I have eternal life.  I often forget that I have the only holy presence that exists inhabiting this earthly frame.  That is His mercy.

I am not sharing this because I feel condemned.  I am sharing this because I was awesomely humbled and, today, fell in love with Him just one more time.

What may have been a mindless ritual, God used to awaken this sleeping bride.