Acts 17:26b-27 – He allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him — though indeed he is not far from each one of us. (NRSV)

Is there anything special about the address you call home? Today's verse suggests that it is no accident that you are where you are.

Since moving to Petpeswick Inlet, Nova Scotia, Canada, my wife Jeanne and I have developed a daily practice. Each day begins with our morning prayer over food, including thanksgiving for place — this place in which we live and move and have our being during most days. Our day ends by going out to our deck overlooking the inlet and simply absorbing the land and seascape before us with a silent and not so silent prayer to the Creator of the land before us, the waters of the inlet, and the star-studded sky above us. We encourage one another and celebrate the "boundaries of the places where [we] live". This place helps us "search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him — though indeed he is not far from each one of us."

Placefulness is simply a word inviting us to be aware of where we live and to connect with the creation immediately around us. It is more than awareness, in that it is the beginning of a contemplative practice of placefulness. Like any spirituality worth its salt, that means integrating the good, the bad and the ugly in the places that we live, especially as climate change takes a deeper hold on the world.

How might the idea of placefulness affect our approach to our meditative and prayer life? On a very earthly level, placefulness invites us to get to know better the place that we call home and how we can be good stewards. Connect with all the living things around you, from the grasses that grow and the birds that soar, to the people who make up your community. Do you ever think of the impact that your daily living has on the immediate world around you, like where your garbage and recycling goes and where your sewer flows? To celebrate Earth Week (April 21-28), a faith-based coalition is engaged in For the Love of Creation which takes us beyond our immediate "place" to the entire creation that God has given us.

There are times when I find myself breathless as I look at the world around me and in awe of the beauty that the Creator authored from the beginning of time.

This earth may not be our home, as the old hymn reminds us, but it is the place that God has planted us, rooted us, and given us the task to nourish and tend. "To be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the human soul." (Simone Weil)

Prayer: God, You've placed us here on this plot of holy ground, and we give You thanks. In deepest gratitude, we acknowledge Your presence in this place, in every rock and reef, in every season and solstice. Amen.

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About the author:

Kenn Stright <kennethstright@yahoo.ca>
West Petpeswick, Nova Scotia, Canada
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