The Meeting Place - Part 2

A couple of months ago I wrote a poem called The Meeting Place. I had spent an hour or so on a Friday morning sitting in an old chapel in a local church, and it felt like the words just poured out of me. While sitting in an old chapel, free of expectations on a Friday morning, allowed me to have a moment of connection with God, that is not my usual Sunday morning experience. Attempts at even entering a church building are often met with intense anxiety, perceived expectations and pressures, and even panic. If you’ve been hurt by the church and its people, I’m sure to some extent you can relate. 

And on this Sunday morning, as I sit at a little coffee shop, filled with grief and longing for a healing relationship with the church, a thought has occurred to me… what if this can be a Meeting Place, too? What if God is not confined to our understanding of the church? What if God wants to meet me here, right now, in this little shop? And some part of me hopes - needs - this to be true. That God is not limited to meeting me only within the walls of a church building. That God can meet me right here, right now, in a gentle whisper or a good cup of coffee. 

So, here is another rendition of The Meeting Place. Instead of thoughts from a holy, old chapel, thoughts from a secular, modern coffee shop. If you are like me and struggle to find your way back to God, I hope you are encouraged that God is constantly finding God's way back to you. 

The Meeting Place - Thoughts from The Moon Coffee and Tea House

Somehow this shop feels like 
a needed deep breath - 
a moment of peace - 
a welcome home hug.

The tall windows 
Let the light in 
Reminding of You - 
Your steadiness
Your presence
Your constancy

And I know 
That You are here with me
Even now. 
Even in this shop

How many collaborations of community have gathered around these tables? 
How many tears have been shed over these mugs of coffee?
How many steps of faith have tiptoed across these hardwood floors?
How many times have You showed up when we didn’t think You would?

You know my limits, 
my pain, my longing,
and Your words meet me with grace all the same. 
You are meeting me here, 
in this place, in this moment. 
You are faithful to my heart
even when my body is overcome by 
fear and memories and pain.

You are more than 
the hurt the church has caused me
and so many others. 
You are not confined to the 
expectations of man.
You are not confined to the
walls of a church. 

You are found in 
this cup of coffee,
in this pothos,
in this moonlit art. 
You are found in 
my laughter,
my tears, 
my hope.
You are found in it all. 
And you have made 
The Meeting Place
accessible in every moment.