In a perfect world, I’m all moved in. I work 15 hours a week, spend enough time with my friends, and have got my homework all under control: it’s finished, done well and I even have next week planned out.
But this is not a perfect world. If you were to visit me in my room, I would point out that there are still pictures to hang, mouse pads to buy, and an empty fridge to fill. I’m still moving in, not to mention trying to wrangle with my homework and pick up work shifts. And for the record, my homework is not finished and I do not have next week perfectly planned out.
Hectic schedules make it harder to stop, rest
The college schedule is grueling; our lifestyle is characterized by a relentless pressure and intensity that we can never totally dismiss. There’s always something hanging over our heads. And if we were to be honest, we haven’t had much space in our lives since we moved in. It’s been go, go, go. You’re not even sitting down in the Caf anymore; you just swipe your card, make a U-turn, grab some pizza and run to class. I am guilty of this, too.
In college we rarely stop these days, and in the pressure cooker that is college, as my friend once affectionately referred to it as, it’s all too easy to forget about our need to stop. We, probably more than anyone else, need to take time to stop and actually think about what we’re doing. We need to embrace actions like sit … dwell … listen … contemplate.
Thankfully, we have a campus-wide movement that supports this need of ours. It’s called Sacred Space.
Sacred Space theme encourages students to experience God
Put together by philanthropist and visionary-in-residence Roberta Ahmanson, the head of our art department Barry Krammes and our president Barry Corey, Sacred Space is, according to the theme’s website, “an opportunity to explore the spaces: physical, social, psychological, spiritual, in which we may draw near and experience the holy, the presence of God, God with us.”
If you want to really know a person, you make time to get alone with him or her. Just you and that person. Why? Because people share the deep things of their hearts when you’re alone with them, and it’s this deepness that creates a closer relationship. So, in the same way, if you want to really know God, you’ll make time to get alone with him. Just you and him. Why? Because God shares the deep things of his heart when you’re alone with him, and it’s this deepness that creates a closer relationship. Sacred Space helps us to get alone with God, and in doing so, know him more intricately.
I asked eight students if they knew the purpose of Sacred Space. Four didn’t know what Sacred Space was, and the other four had vague ideas of its purpose. Last year, I wrote an article announcing that Sacred Space was going to be this year’s theme. In researching how the theme was decided upon, I had the opportunity to talk to Krammes and David Nystrom, two of the people who helped in collaboration for The Year of the Arts. If you go back and read that article, you’ll see that it is not just some nice theme of the year. Ahmanson, the main creator of Sacred Space, has thought deeply and thoroughly about it.
Upcoming events related to Sacred Space theme
Events are already happening like Sacred Space Mondays in chapel. The Art Gallery has a beautiful exhibition on art and text. “The Bible as Art” is displayed in the library, celebrating the 400th anniversary of the King James Version.
There are many events to look forward to, as well: a six-week series on sin and spiritual formation, featuring speakers like Dallas Willard; an interdisciplinary faculty forum on Oct. 10, entitled “What Is Sacred Space?”; and the annual Torrey Conference on Sabbathing.
Sacred Space will help us uniquely connect with God and, by doing so, draw even nearer to him, and love him more deeply. And isn’t that the goal of this life? Sacred Space helps us accomplish that goal.
In the coming weeks, we’ll discuss how exactly we get to that point. We’ll think up ideas on how to accomplish this all-important task of getting alone with God and drawing near to him. I would love it if you’d email me your ideas and take the poll at The Chimes Online.
This will be an ongoing column that I hope will serve you by providing ways to practically apply Sacred Space to your everyday life. Every two weeks, there will be a new piece. I am a fellow student whose desire is to support the theme by giving you ideas on how to make Sacred Space a reality in your life. I want to listen to your stories, share some of my own and pave the way for a new story in all of us: one that is characterized by space — space in which we can connect to God more intimately than ever before.
