Place Matters by Lorilee Guenter

 Psalm 18:19 He brought me into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.

I sat in a boat surrounded by water and sky. The clear water allowed us to watch the fish swim by suspended between air and sand. In the distance, we could see the curve of land where beach gave way to forest.

I drove a prairie road. Golden fields, sun kissed by the setting sun, rolled across the horizon. The highway created a dark ribbon tying them together as far as I could see.

I sit in a coffee shop surrounded by a hum of background noise. Outside the window, a snow covered field sparkles as it reflects the sun. A plane takes off casting a shadow as it briefly blocks the sun.

Spacious places, as a prairie girl, are a familiar landscape for me. Some people feel claustrophobic if they move from these wide open locations to more confined places. Mountains, forests, cities are a few of the more enclosed landscapes I think of. Even tighter spaces are subways, airplanes or elevators. Yet even these have enough room for their purpose.

Psalm 18:19 tells us "God brought me into a spacious place." One of the definitions of spacious in my dictionary is: affording ample room. God put me in a place with enough, and more than enough room. He knows what I need. Sometimes that is sitting in a boat watching fish swim by. Other times it is winding my way around trees through a forest. I can be surrounded by people or by nature and remain confident that God is present. He is a constant in every location I find myself in. Because of his presence, even the smallest of places becomes spacious - it contains ample room. 

Wherever I find myself, whether in a landscape that blends into the sky or among buildings so tall they seem to block out the sun, I seek to recognise God's presence. It is my spacious place. 

Lorilee Guenter is a writer and artist from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She enjoys exploring God's creation. Her hobbies and interests are varied which leads to an eclectic set of books she is reading.