Thin Places & Interior Spaces
There is a Celtic saying that heaven and earth are only three feet apart, but in the thin places that distance is even smaller. The ancient Celts believed a thin place was an earthly location where there is little to no boundary between heaven and earth. It is a special place where one can easily and undeniably sense the presence of God.
I will never forget my first experience sitting with a client and entering into a thin place. I came out of the session that day thinking, “I was just standing on holy ground.” The presence of God was tangible in the room as Father God gently and lovingly ministered to her soul. The power of His touch in that fifty-minute session was undeniable and I left with a profound sense of awe and gratitude for how He cares for troubled hearts. The experience left me with the question. Can my counseling room become a thin place?
“In order to be aware of that conscious union with God, it is necessary that everything be removed that hides that consciousness and - dims the knowledge of God.”
What was interesting about this experience was that it occurred during a time in my professional life in which I was the least seasoned. I was fresh out of my doctoral program and had minimal experience. I did my best to bring everything I learned into my practice but mostly, in those beginning days, I prayed. I prayed because I was acutely aware of my inexperience. I learned a valuable lesson in those early days, to never neglect the most powerful form of healing and personal transformation – a personal encounter with God.
When our attention and affection is turned toward God, the heart becomes a thin place. II Corinthians 3 speaks of a veil that can cover the heart but whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away (vs. 16). Wounds, lies, and past traumas are the thread and material that make up the veil that covers the heart. Ushering clients into the presence of the Lord unveils the heart and brings freedom for “where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (vs. 17). When the heart is unveiled and able to interact with the living God face-to-face, transformation occurs.
“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
Transformation occurs in the face-to-face encounter between the client and the Wonderful Counselor. When God is invited into the process in an intentional and active way, miraculous healing occurs. It occurs because you are accessing His power to heal and to transform, and you are inviting Him to do the work (I Thessalonians 5:23).