Sanctuary

I took a road trip to Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming last month. I had a craving for "sanctuary", in nearly all of the word’s definitions.



refuge: a shelter from danger or hardship

I've spent the past few years as the full time caregiver for my Mom who is in the late stages of Alzheimer's. My days are filled with mostly silence, intractable boredom, and occasionally deep grieving for the vibrant woman almost invisible today.

I also supervise the meds, finances and affairs of my Grandmother, in a more functional stage of Alzheimer's. She lives in a Senior Citizen low income housing complex 30 minutes from my home. That experience is chaotic as she undoes, complicates, or rejects most efforts done on her behalf. She clings to her independence fiercely, and her contempt, anger, and paranoia drives away the friends and family that gave her life meaning and joy.

I spend time in perpetual debate/dialog with friends and visitors to the Community of Christ Cybercongregation. Recent months have brought an unrelenting gauntlet of condemnation, harassment, and examination of those strange gay creatures without much consideration of our actual gay voices. I’ve not been able to find a solid place to stand in this. I don’t want to validate the base question on the worth of gays in christianity, but I don't want to dismiss genuine questions by those who want to understand more deeply. I never get my response quite right.

I spent these vacation weeks in sanctuary from the chaos, despair, hostility and fears of others, and focused on the daily rhythms of traveling, finding food and shelter each day, and absorbing the ever-changing landscapes. In the sounds of the rivers, the silence of the forests, and the echoing of canyons I was able to hear my own thoughts again. That’s all I needed.



sanctuary: the part of the church where the altar is located, considered the holiest part of the church

My journey took me through some of the most barren lands on our earth, some places that were lush, some that were soaring to heaven, waters that were turbulent and sometimes still waters. I visited lodges that combined the wildness of nature and the precision of architecture and the confluence of diverse visitors from around the world. All of these fed and nourished my soul, and helped me see the sacred again in all lives.



sanctuary: a consecrated place where sacred objects are kept

I spent my evenings on this trip fussing with my journal. I journal in a 3 dimensional collage way. My journal is filled with Words, scriptures, quotes, pictures, symbols, and found objects that are altered, blended, and layered until I can find the deepest meaning, the truest truths. My journal is a sanctuary of the events, people, and desires of my life.



wildlife sanctuary: a place of refuge for animals

The wildness, diversity, and uniqueness of the lives of bear, kingfishers, elk, coyote, moose, deer, and osprey, and grizzly helped me escape the domestication of my own life for a bit. In my spiritual life I want to live on the edge, the frontier of recovering the essential nature of our humanity, and finding ways to live as fully and deeply and richly in all of our diversity. May we protect the physical environment as well as the social environment so that each creature, even the most vulnerable, is afforded the space to live, love, and flourish in the landscapes we find ourselves.





vacation blog photos here