"Shorelines of the Spirit...."   Why that name for these reflections?   Well,  coming from New Jersey, where going "down the shore"  is part of the native vocabulary,  it seemed quite appropriate.

But more importantly,  there is a "Shoreline of the Spirit" in each of us,  that deep place where the infinite ocean of  God's presence meets each of us in the sandy stretches of our daily lives.  We're invited each day to walk along that water's edge,  to be refreshed by the presence of God within us.

In New Jersey,  we go "down the Shore" almost always by driving along some stretch of the Garden State Parkway, which begins in extreme north Jersey and ends at its southernmost tip, at Cape May. There are a few other ways to get there,  but the Parkway is the one that most people take, because it's quick and fairly direct.

On the other hand,  to get to those shorelines of the Spirit within,  there are many routes:  Scripture,  silence,  wordless prayer,  verbal prayer,   simple reflection on the events of the day,     There are as many routes as there are people, because this is all about relationship:   with God, with others, with ourselves.  And no two relationships are ever, ever the same.  So God maps out the route,  issues course corrections, points out scenic overlooks,  and becomes uniquely for each of us both the road and the destination.  At different times of our lives,  different paths to the inner shoreline will surface and we are invited to travel those roads.   They may become part of our permanent itinerary,  or they may be  an alternate route that we use for a time.

As a New Jerseyan who loves the shore, I make ample use of  the rest stops along the road,  where a cup of coffee,  a wake-up walk,  a chance to speak with fellow travelers are all available.  It's my hope that this blog will provide that for any who happen upon it:  one online opportunity among many to share the road  and to anticipate the peaceful joy of that Shoreline where God waits for us, for all of us.

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