Dear Friends,

Writers in the Celtic Tradition have a lot to say about ‘thin places’. I’ve written about them before. Places where the gap between heaven and earth becomes fuzzy and we catch a glimpse of the other side. Today I find myself sitting by the window on the fourth floor of Central Library.

And, unlikely as it may seem, this for me is a ‘thin place.’

The street below is, of course, what many of us would know as ‘The Hayes’. Funny. In my head it’s not that long ago that all this, including the building in which I’m sitting, wasn’t there at all. My grandparents, big fans of David Morgans, wouldn’t recognise the place, but I remember happily swinging off my nan’s hand as she picked out anything from a sofa to a frying pan. Today, The big St. David’s shopping centre takes up most of the skyline although, if I crane my neck a bit I can just about see John Lewis. I remember returning to Cardiff one summer to find we’d acquired a John Lewis – it was the talk of the church coffee morning!

These days this particular table is one of my favourite spots on a study day. It’s pretty much the ideal spot for writing and thinking. A bit out of the way, quiet, and with a really good view down onto the street – useful for people-watching purposes. A reminder of just how many people wander through central Cardiff on any given day. Each of them with a story to tell. Each of them known and loved by God.

I will probably sit here all day. If I’m going to finish my current essay I might have to!

It’s an unlikely ‘thin place’ but for me it links present with past and future, with God woven through the tapestry in strange by powerful ways.

Jesus spent much of his time in the days leading up to the crucifixion in a small town a couple of miles from Jerusalem, called Bethany. He and the disciples probably stayed with – or at least spent time with, Mary, Martha and Lazarus – long-time friends with whom Jesus could relax, to whose home he could retreat and prepare himself for the storm that was brewing in Jerusalem. Bethany was familiar and full of memories, some happy, some bittersweet. I don’t know but maybe, as he faced the cross, it was somewhere Jesus felt he could hear more clearly from his Father in Heaven.

You may not share my fondness for The Hayes or the library, but I hope this Lent you can make time to retreat to your ‘thin place’ to connect with God and with the work of God in God’s people.

Love and blessings,                

Laura