Thin Moments and Places

A book I am reading, started talking about something that interested me, called a thin place. A “thin place” is traditionally a belief held by Celtic Christians. In short, a it is a place somewhere in the world where a person is closer to God then he or she ordinarily is. It is a special place where a person can truly feel God’s presence. This group of Celtic Christians believe that at any given time a person is usually 3 feet away from God, but when in a thin place a person is even closer!

The idea is intriguing to me, and to some extent I have found it to be true (although I may not believe the 3 ft rule). There are places that I have been, that I have found myself feeling closer to God than usual. Mostly my experience has been somewhere in nature like on a hike (only been on like 2 in my whole life) or at the beach.

My thought is that, more than “thin places” I have had “thin moments”. I will say I am not sure if there is any specific Celtic Christian teaching on thin moments though, but maybe there is! I think a thin moment is a time in your life when you can feel God there and you may not know why.  Here are some of my “thin moments:"

• When my daughter was born
• When I got married
• When I am at the beach
• When I am in Adoration

I realized I have been taught about thin moments my whole life. Back in kindergarden my teacher once told me a secret. I'll let you in on the secret too:

"When you get goosebumps and you are not cold, and you look around and cannot see, hear or feel anything, then it's the Holy Spirit next to you giving you a hug".

Guess what? I have believed it ever since. Whenever I notice I get goosebumps for no reason at all, it always makes me smile and feel like God is watching over me.