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Sacred Places are usually
associated with some event in human history where God’s
presence has been revealed. The Holy Land is sacred to
the Jews, Christians and Moslems because of the manifestations
of God’s presence to forebearers in that land. In Israel,
shrines and memorials have been built at virtually every
location believed to be a site of a Biblical event. I
have visited some of these places and those experiences
were moving to me. They were places related to events
in Holy Scripture and in the life of Jesus Christ, both
revelations by God to us humans. To me, God is also manifest
in the creation itself, "the vast expanse of interstellar
space, and this fragile Earth, our island home." Many
write, sing or paint about the glory of God in Nature.
To me, that Glory is not just in enjoyment of that which
is created, but in seeing God’s very presence in the creation.
The gifts of creation have been reworked many places where,
as co-creators with God, we form the natural gifts into
farms, gardens and parks, and with selective breeding
develop dogs, cats, cows, horses and trees, crops and
flowers to our liking and specific use. Sometimes there
is the opportunity to go back to the source, the place
where creation is still as it was created. There are not
many places to do that. Deserts perhaps. Open seas perhaps.
And for some of us land dwellers, a wilderness where God’s
presence is found in the land, the lakes, and all the
creatures great and small who live in the forest community
as it was created, and is, as yet, largely unspoiled.
Heaven, to me, is "as God would have it be". Therefore,
I believe the wilderness of the BWCAW is sacred, and a
glimpse of heaven on earth.
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