"there are no unsacred places" - a poetry prompt (and link to a worksheet)

Can you trust that God has you right where you are supposed to be? Write your own, 'I want to be present where my body takes up space' poem

Recently, I’ve found myself engaged in Facebook chatter with people I don’t know trying, ever so gently, to offer some crumb of an understanding as to why God would allow all of these people (and animals and homes and towns) to perish from Helene’s destruction. Comments like, “I’d never believe in a God who’d allow that”, “TRUST in God? Yeah, no thanks”, or “God is a mythical being”, send my heart racing and face flushing because, yes, all of it is incredibly hard to understand, and noearthlybody has these answers, BUT he is the only way for salvation and real hope in these scary, unknown times, and as Christians, it’s our mission to help others come to know him DESPITE this messiness.

Without the answers, I may not be changing hearts or minds over there but I do know, as a Christian, that this is where our faith and hope are exercised. We can’t explain any of this stuff, but we know it’s not chaotic and random.

Yet, even as a Christ-follower, I often wrestle with the same undercurrents of fear, doubt, and uncertainty these folks have. It feels a little more like restlessness, than unbelief, but the current continually trying to pull me under is the same…lack of trust.

“I believe; help my unbelief.” - Mark 9:24

For me, it shows up when I want to do a million different things and find myself completely frustrated with my lack of time and inability to do any of them. I know perfectly well that if God wanted me to engage in these million different things, or even one of them, he’d make a way.

So, where am I supposed to be?

Would it be so crazy to believe that I am right where I’m supposed to be - with the wrestlings, wonderings, and unbelief included?

I think not.

And since we never stay in any place as we are constantly growing, learning, adding to the depths of our faith, our hope, our understanding of God’s character…I know every little part of it: the mundane parts, the seemingly random parts, even the setbacks, are purposeful.

I want to be present where my body takes up space and know that it’s good, maybe then my heart will rest and I can finally begin to EMBODY that peace which surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7).

I explored this idea when I wrote a poem back in April. Here I am, revisiting it again, and it’s such a powerful prompt, I want to share it with you, too.

(You can read my poem here, too)

I want to be present where my body takes up space

It’s the kind of poem you can write over and over again, with the changing seasons, because we never stay the same, and it’s the kind of mindful poem that helps us remember a very important truth:

We are right where God needs us to be.

It’s the kind of poem that helps me analyze the wrestling and see what God has for me there. It’s the kind of poem that illuminates where my heart can change instead of my circumstances.

In my art ministry workshop for The Sacred Art Journal, we will be using a poetry prompt worksheet to help us write our own, ‘I want to be present where my body takes up space’ poems. **Feel free to skip through the questions and worksheet part if you want to have a go at this prompt without the help!**

It begins with asking ourselves, can we believe these four truths?

1. God is sovereign

2. His timing is always perfect

3. He guides our paths and goes before us to create a way for us

4. We can trust that his plans are higher and better than ours

If so, then we can embrace the idea that God has us right where we are supposed to be, more wholly.

Let’s look to scripture

Before we begin, let’s read a few passages of scripture to get an always-needed dose of truth:

“His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?” – Daniel 4:34-35

“There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven—” – Ecclesiastes 3:1

“The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” – Deuteronomy 31:8

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” – Proverbs 19:21

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” – Isaiah 55:8-9

Do these passages help you embrace this idea that you are right where you’re supposed to be?

How are you feeling right now about these truths? Use a feelings wheel if necessary. Any emotion is appropriate and it’s likely you are experiencing more than one.

Is this idea a revelation for you?

You can use some of these feelings in your answer to number 7 below.

There are no unsacred places

Before we answer some questions to help with writing our poems, consider these lines from one of my favorite poems by Wendell Berry, How to be a Poet:

Stay away from anything   

that obscures the place it is in.   

There are no unsacred places;   

there are only sacred places   

and desecrated places.   

Can you believe there are no unsacred places; only sacred and desecrated?

Questions to help us write our poems

1. Where have you been or found yourself to be lately? List the places and positions where your body has been taking up space. Try not to judge if it’s “good” or “bad”, just take notes

2. What people have you interacted with lately? It could be a generalization, like church friends or other parents on the bleachers at a child’s sports event, or specific like Judy who works at the grocery store, or your women’s ministry group.

3. What surprised you about any of these interactions? Be specific here.

4. How would you categorize the purpose of these places: ie, engaging in your hobbies, running necessary errands or doing chores, working, attending children’s events, or going to the library for new reading materials?

5. Using some of the specific places you’ve noted above, what specific things are happening because you are in those places, ie, in my poem, my body is getting bit by summer bugs because I’m in my garden, or my leg is forced out of my comforter because my dog is beside me making me hot. Take each place and example and think this through.

6. Take note of the places you have not been lately, that perhaps you normally are. How do you feel about that (don’t judge your feelings)? What do you observe about that?

7. Now that you have embraced the idea that God is sovereign over all the places you are, how does that change how you feel about the places your body is taking up space right now? Use a feelings wheel if necessary.

Let’s write our first draft using this worksheet to help

(parts of my poem are italicized below the lines as a sample)

 I want to be present where my body takes up space.

Lately, that is _________________________________________________________ , and

_______________________________________________________around people / among

___________________________________________________________________________.

on baseball fields, around groups of people interested in planting gardens of native plants, and right beside friends I’m handing tissues to as we both blow away the yellow pollen smothering the southeast and causing our eyes to itch and drip, making us miserable - but together, it’s not as bad.

I am taking up space in ____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________.

sweet community library poetry circles with elders I hope to be like one day, and in cozy rooms sitting in rows with other artists as we listen to each others’ stories.

I am taking up space ____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________.

in my yard, working under the sun, getting red bumps from having sensitive, fair skin and spring insects enjoying my sweat and sweet blood.

I am taking up space ____________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________.

where I lay my body every night, and where three dirty balls and a chewed-up bone, and 70 pounds of pure and loyal love are always touching me, forcing my leg out of the duvet to cool down from the added heat.

I am not taking up space __________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________.

in my art studio, or on the hard blue chair in front of my laptop, or in any chair staring down at a screen and I’m not feeling guilty about any of that.

I am present right here where my body is taking up space and it’s, ____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

indeed, a sacred space and I don’t want to obscure any part of it.

[Allow this next paragraph to express how you feel about your current understanding that God has you right where you are supposed to be] ____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________.

To be swept through my days, in the exhilarating, cyclical, and proper ebbing and flowing of priorities and interests led with holy influence, while practicing the presence of God in each and every minute-filled three-dimensional movement is where I want to be.

I want to be present where my body takes up space.

If you’d like to have this worksheet as a printable PDF, click here. While you’re there, be sure to sign up for my website’s email list. I’m still figuring out the website stuff so I’m not sending out any junk - I promise!

There you have it!

You’ve written the first draft to a lovely, mindful poem that captures this season of your life. I hope it offered a glimpse of hope in the mundane, hard, and unexciting, as well as the delightful areas we are taking up space right now, and I hope it allowed faith and gratitude to sweep into those dusty corners where perhaps all you felt before was messiness.

Something else I know for sure: God is The God of Detail, the proof is all around.

Months later after writing that (version of my) poem, and some things never change. We sleep with our dog, and all of “his stuff”.

Ending Well

In the Sacred Art Journaling Workshop, ending well is as important as beginning well, and we always take time to check in with how we are feeling, and share what is on our hearts with our Heavenly Father.

Take a few minutes to think about how you feel right now, in your heart, mind, and body. Write a prayer to share these feelings with God and anything else you may want to say to him. Thank him for working ALL things for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).