The Holy Soil Of Our Ordinary Lives
Table Talk
Setting the Table
You are welcome here. Come just as you are, bringing whatever is on your heart today. Take a few moments and allow yourself to just be. Take a couple deep breaths, grab yourself a cup of coffee, light a candle, do something that brings you comfort. Allow yourself to be present in this moment.
What if the holiest thing you could do today is simply to be fully present where you already are?
And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles, no matter how long, but only by a spiritual journey, a journey of one inch, very arduous and humbling and joyful, by which we arrive at the ground at our own feet, and learn to be at home.
― Wendell Berry
Exodus 3:4-5
When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
Food for Thought
From a young age, we’re asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s a question that seems innocent enough — meant to inspire imagination, to encourage children to dream big and imagine endless possibilities. But beneath the surface, it plants a subtle seed — that who we are now is not yet enough. That we are always reaching, striving, waiting to become someone else.
Doesn’t that seem a little strange — that before we even know who we are, we are asked to consider who it is we are becoming? We learn early to define ourselves by our future potential rather than our present presence. We start measuring our worth by what we might accomplish, by titles we might earn, by the shape our lives might someday take. It’s no wonder so many of us spend our days feeling behind or incomplete, always chasing the next version of ourselves.
We are not often given permission to simply be grateful for where we are right now — to see this ordinary, unfinished, sometimes messy moment as holy. But what if growing up is less about becoming someone new and more about returning to the truth of who we already are? What if the invitation is not to chase a future self, but to arrive — finally and fully — at the ground beneath our own feet?
When Moses finds God ablaze in the desert, he is running from the life he once knew — a fugitive, tending someone else’s sheep in someone else’s land — caught between who he has been and who he is becoming. Pausing before a burning bush that will not be ignored, he turns aside to see, and that simple act of attention changes everything. God calls his name, twice, and Moses answers, “Here I am.” Before any calling, before any tasks are given, before Moses becomes the leader of a people — there is this moment of holy presence. “Take off your sandals,” God says, “for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
In that quiet exchange between God and Moses, something shifts — not just for him, but for all of us who have ever wondered where we might find God in the midst of our lives. It is a revelation: God is not waiting for us to arrive somewhere else — God is already there in the midst of it all right now. Before Moses takes a single step toward his future, God reminds him that the divine is already with him right where he stands. This moment offers a gentle truth — we do not have to embark on a journey of a thousand miles to discover who we are or where God is; we only have to notice what’s already burning before us and within us.
It’s an invitation to look around and see the ground beneath us as sacred space.
The place on which you stand right now is holy ground.
The desk where you answer emails, the classroom where you teach, the kitchen where you prepare meals — holy ground.
The carpool line, the hospital waiting room, the late-night nursery — holy ground.
The places where you volunteer, serve, or show up for someone in quiet faithfulness — holy ground.
The conversations that stretch you, the grief that humbles you, the joy that surprises you — holy ground.
The very life-space from which you operate every day — this, too, is holy ground.
This story reminds us that holiness is not only found in the destination, but in the ground beneath our very feet. The invitation of God is to pause, to turn aside, and to be grateful for the sacredness of this moment — even if it doesn’t yet look like where we thought we’d be.
Maybe the question isn’t “What will you be?” but rather “Will you notice?” Will you stop long enough to see that God is already here — calling your name, sanctifying the ordinary soil of your life as holy ground? The question is not “Who do you want to become?” but “Who are you right now?” Who are you in this very moment, standing barefoot before the mystery of God’s presence? For it is here — not in some imagined future, but in the sacred now — that God meets us, calls us, and reminds us that the very life we are living is, in fact, holy ground.
Set aside a few minutes each day to physically take off your shoes, stand still, and breathe deeply — wherever you are. As you feel the ground beneath your feet, be reminded that, “This place is holy ground.” Let that simple act reawaken awareness and gratitude for the present moment.
The holidays are almost upon us and maybe you are finding yourself slightly nervous. It can be hard to know how to navigate or approach all that might divide us if brought up in conversation. To help our readers navigate this season, our team created a short resource to provide you with Five Things to Remember When Setting a Welcome Table for the Holidays! We hope it will help you set a welcoming space before your guests even arrive!
For a printable version of today's reflection Click Here!
Blessing
Holy One,
Slow our steps and open our eyes to the sacred that surrounds us. Teach us to see your presence in the ordinary — in the work we do, the people we meet, the quiet moments in between. Let the ground beneath our feet be a reminder that you are already here, that this moment, just as it is, is holy. May gratitude fill our hearts, and may we live each day awake to the wonder of your nearness.
Amen.
A little Table Talk for your table...
Where in your daily life do you most easily overlook “holy ground,” and what might help you become more aware of it?
How does the idea that God is already present where you stand challenge the way you think about purpose or success?
What practices or moments help you pause, turn aside, and truly notice the sacred in your ordinary routines?
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
Remind your kiddos that God is with them right where they are, even if it’s not a special place. Ask them what they think it means to be standing on holy ground?
Make a list together of some ordinary things — like helping a friend, sharing, or being kind — that might create holy moments?
Have the kids share one way they can help someone else see that the place they are — or who they are — is special and loved by God?
Meet This WEek’s Writer...
The Welcome Table Team - We are “The Bunce Girls!” Originally from Lexington, North Carolina, we were raised surrounded by music, justice, and faith. We spent most of our Sunday afternoons gathered around an open table with family and friends where the food was plentiful, stories and laughter connected our hearts, and where the presence of each individual was held sacred. It’s those moments that have inspired The Welcome Table.
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