Sanctuary Time

Today I slipped into the sanctuary when no one else was there. No sermon to polish, no list of things to check off. Just silence, a few beams of light through the stained-glass windows, and the steady sound of my own breath.

I realized how rare it is for me to be in that space without a task. Usually, the sanctuary is full of people, full of needs, full of holy noise. But today it was simply a place to sit down and be still.

At first, my mind raced through the usual anxieties—unfinished projects, unanswered emails, family worries. But slowly, in the quiet, something shifted. I remembered that God does not meet me because I’m useful, or productive, or ready with the right words. God simply meets me.

We all need places like this—little sanctuaries in the middle of our messy lives. Maybe for you it’s not a church building. Maybe it’s your garden, or a quiet walk, or even just two minutes of deep breathing before the next thing comes rushing in. The point is not the place. The point is the presence.

And the promise is this: whenever we stop long enough to notice, we discover that God has been waiting for us all along.

A Prayer:

God of quiet spaces,

meet us in the stillness.

Calm our racing minds,

ease our anxious hearts,

and remind us that Your love

does not depend on what we do,

but simply on whose we are—

Your beloved.

Amen.