A Sense of Place ~ Valerie Ronald

There is a phrase echoing around in my mind, simpler to describe than to define ˗˗ a sense of place.

It is warm golden pine needles carpeting the ground, spicing the air with each cushioned footstep. It is shafts of sunlight dropping down through tree columns, alive with dancing dust and insects. It is the rhythmic sound of waves swelling and receding, growing louder as the shoreline comes into view. Once beyond the trees, it is drawing in big breaths of salt-rich air, then kicking off my shoes and burying my toes in the sand, more fully alive here by the sea than anywhere else.

By the sea is where I derive my deepest sense of place, a setting for joyful contemplation when all goes well and for comfort when solace is sought. Walking along its shores gazing at the layers of moving water, distant mountains, and wind-swept clouds, my soul finds nurture and peace. I don’t live near it anymore but in some tender corner of my heart the sea will always draw me. I was happiest there as a child and dream of living near it again someday.

“Place is where meaning, belonging, and safety come together under the covering of our best efforts at unconditional love,” writes author Randy Kilgore. “Place beckons us with memories buried deep in our souls. Even when our place isn’t perfect, its hold on us is dramatic, magnetic.”

Place, that idyllic memory evoked by emotions connected to it. For me it is more a person than a physical setting. Yes, my heart responds to some places more than others, where special memories have their roots or beauty stirs me. At some point those places may be changed or even destroyed, but the One who gives me the most secure, eternal sense of place will be forever present.

Jesus Christ said, “Abide in Me, and I will abide in you.” (John 15:4 NIV) What a strange concept that must have been to the disciples listening to Him. Abide? Live in? Take up residence in Jesus? When read in context of the metaphor of the vine and the branches in John 15, abiding in Jesus makes sense. He is our vine, our source of spiritual nourishment so we, the branch, can bear spiritual fruit. Important as spiritual fruit is, it is not the main reason for Jesus wanting us to abide in Him. His desire is for intimacy with His beloved child, a sense of connection only achieved by living as close to Him as possible. Abiding, remaining˗˗when our inner spirit, the truest essence of who we are, takes up residence in the heart of Jesus. It sounds a bit mystical. True spirituality is a mystery, but the practice of it is simple. Spend time with Jesus. Seek, long for, thirst after, engage, know, hear and respond to … Jesus. Find Him in His Word, talk to Him in prayer, listen for His voice in your spirit, live in Him.

Being by the ocean gives me a sense of place because of significant personal epiphanies I have experienced there. Yet I have learned that my truest sense of place happens in my spiritual abode, the heart of Jesus, a place of love. “As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Now abide in My love.” (John 15:9)

Valerie Ronald writes from an old roll top desk in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, with her tortoiseshell cat for a muse. A graduate of Langara College School of Journalism, she writes devotionals, fiction and inspirational prose. Her purpose in writing is to encourage others to grow in their spiritual walk.