Through thick and thin

During Easter week, my family and I spent a few days up in Scotland. One of the places we were keen to visit was the island of Iona off the west coast of Mull. 

Iona is very much what I would describe as one of my 'happy places' - somewhere I have fond memories of visiting previously. It is a place I find special in a way that not many other places make me feel. For me at least, there's something different about being there.

The founder of the Iona Community (a group who stay, work and worship at the Abbey on the island) obviously felt the same way. He described Iona as a "thin place" - a place where the physical and spiritual worlds almost touch. It's a place where lots of people feel more spiritually connected or to put it another way perhaps, experience the presence of God more keenly.

I have spent a bit of time wondering why this is - why some places seem more "thin" than others. There are three reasons that sprang to mind:

Firstly is history. Iona was the place where Christianity was first brought to Scotland and northern England over 1500 years ago by St Columba. Although the original Abbey buildings have been rebuilt several times in the hundreds of years since, there is a real sense of a place where people have been quietly (bar some nasty encounters with Vikings!) living with and experiencing God for one and half millennia. It's been a holy place for a long, long time.

Secondly, Iona is a stunningly beautiful place. A small island with pristine white sand beaches set in a blue sea with views of islands and cliffs. It's much easier to feel some sense of God's presence or wonder at creation when in such surroundings. I'm not sure I'd feel the same way if Christianity had been first brought to these shores in Grimsby or Rotherham!  (Apologies to any natives of those towns - I'm sure they're lovely really!) 

Lastly, there's the getting there. I wouldn't call our trip to Iona a pilgrimage, but there is no doubt that getting to Iona takes some effort. A long drive up to to Oban, followed by a car ferry journey, then another long drive on winding, single-track roads (not the best with a travel sick child!) and then another ferry. The effort to get there means it feels remote and far flung. It somehow feels a more special destination due to the effort needed to get there. I wonder if I would feel the same if it was just down the road and I could visit easily whenever I wished?

These three things together, its history, its beauty and its remoteness perhaps mean we expect to feel more connected to God or our spiritual side in a place like this. Perhaps because of this we're more tuned into that side of ourselves - we feel God more there because we expect to feel God there.

In which case, maybe we need to reflect on where the "thin" places are in our lives. Or even the "thin" situations. After all, feeling God's presence doesn't require the three things I've mentioned above. God doesn't limit His presence because of our history, how long we've been a Christian or what has happened in our lives. Nor does he only show up in the beautiful places or situations - in fact He's often felt more in the darkest moments. Equally, whilst Jesus said that the road to travel may not be easy, God isn't hard to get to. He isn't remote and far flung but rather always near at hand and accessible to all.

So maybe we should be looking to see the "thinness" in more places, situations and people. If we expect to feel God's presence more, actively look for where He is at work, then maybe our whole lives can be a that little bit "thinner".

Prayer attributed St Columba:

Be a bright flame before me, O God

a guiding star above me.

Be a smooth path below me,

a kindly shepherd behind me

today, tonight, and for ever.

Alone with none but you, my God

I journey on my way;

what need I fear when you are near,

O Lord of night and day?

More secure am I within your hand

than if a multitude did round me stand.

Amen.