Awe, wonder, and reverence: Experiences that cleanse

Some emotions cannot coexist. Awe, wonder, and reverence are bone-deep emotions that cleanse away fear or malice or resentment. As such they cleanse our souls, as we would hope for any near-experience of God. 

It is healing for my soul to make room for awe and wonder. It is refreshing to make room for reverence. And by making room, I mean clearing the obstacles, setting aside the time on my schedule, and seeking those solitudes where I most often meet God and know his presence. 

While I value meditations on the word of God, that is not what I mean here. I mean the more primal, pre-verbal, deep-resonance perception of God. I may seek a sight of the stars that declare the glory of God. I may arrange a moment where I see the light on the water for a moment that restores my soul. These are Sabbath moments. 

In our culture, "irreverent" has become a compliment, particularly for "irreverent humor." I suspect that "irreverent humor" erodes our capacity for reverence, even more than short-form content can erode our  attention spans. I have met devoted Christians who distrust reverence, who assume that reverence is false reverence. But there is a genuine reverence that we know in our quieter moments. Reverence is intensely wholesome, removing bitterness and cynicism at the root. The longer I stay in those moments, the more the peacefulness deepens. 

May I make it part of my practice to seek and pursue those occasions to focus on the glory of God.