Touching the
Other Side
January 29, 2007
Experiencing Thin Places
When people talk of encountering
the Otherworld they often reference
some “miracle” or cosmic event such
as seeing an apparition, hearing
voices, or suddenly smelling the
fragrance of roses. Their testimonies
of touching the other side rests on
an unexplainable event.
But what if the better proof of real
encounter with the Other side was in
something totally ordinary, more
often missed than noticed? What if a
series of seemingly natural
occurrences rivaled the most vivid
apparitions, smells and sounds ?
I believe the extraordinary is
embedded in the ordinary. Miracles
surface in the
synchronistic events that occur
naturally, and will stun us if we
but keep our sense tuned in to them.
These are unremarkable life events
that occurred in April several years ago:
- A drive through the
mountains during a light rain.
- Conversations with friends
about thin places.
- A quiet prayer asking for
God's affirmation
- Photographing a picturesque
landscape.
- A rainbow.
However, these common events when
arranged in the order of occurrence
within the context of human
experience become remarkable -almost
eerie -
and transcend the limits of
the ordinary. Here’s my account of these
events as they occurred in my life
on a trip to Ireland several years
ago.
April 22, 1998
Larry, Sheila and I spent the
morning in the Clew Bay region in
the West of Ireland. After visiting
Croagh Patrick we took the N59 south
from Westport to Leenane through the
mountains. I noticed to the south...
just a few hundred yards from us, it
was raining. However, it wasn’t
raining in the north or west. The
afternoon sun was vigorously shining
from the west onto those southern
mountains, reflecting off the sheets
of rain creating what looked like a
shimmering sheet of lace. We
continued to move closer to the
illusion of a thin veil separating
us from the mountains.
This mirage made me consider the
term “thin places” and the
co-mingling of this world and the
next in certain locations. For a
moment I wondered which world I was
in.
Thin Places was the title of a book
I was working on. It was a huge
project and I lost confidence in my
ability to produce the book on a
daily basis. In what seemed like a
"thin moment" I said a silent prayer
asking God to affirm the project or
guide me away from it. I asked for a
sign of affirmation. Should I
continue with the project or scrap
it?
Up ahead was a lake at the foot of
the mountains which was most
picturesque. We approached a stone
cross along the sunny side of the
road. I asked Larry (who was
driving) to stop so I could take a
picture of the cross with the
mountains and lake in the
background. Maneuvering myself and
the camera into position for this
shot was difficult as I stepped
around several sheep and through
muck and mud to get an angle that
would have the cross, landscape and environmental elements.
I was pretty far into the muddy
roadside field when a blustering
wind came from nowhere through the
mountain pass and with it torrential
rain. I covered my camera lens and
tried to make it quickly back to the
car to avoid getting soaked. As I
looked for the car I could hear
screaming not only from my friends
but also from others that were
stopped along the road. They were
gesturing frantically for me to look
behind where I was standing. I
turned around and saw a rainbow
descending from the clouds through
the
mountain pass, dropping into
the lake. I was so vivid, and
so close - almost
surreal. It seemed to be throbbing,
moving closer. It was no wonder
my friends
were screaming. Despite
sheets of rain pounding against me
and my camera, I shots and shot and
shot - photo after photo.
It only lasted a few a
seconds.
I returned to the car, drenched. The three of us sat in silence and
amazement wondering if we had just
seen what we thought we’d seen.
Before we could speak the rainbow
faded back into view... in the same
place... not as bright this
time..... but with a subtle twin
rainbow just to right which is
barely visible in the photo I
snapped from the car.
Then it was gone as quickly as it
came. So was the rain.
Today, nearly nine years later, I'm
still working on Thin Places.
Reflecting on this experience gives
me courage to believe it might be
born someday soon. back to
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