By Jenn Holden, Monterrey, Mexico Field Staff
Sometimes I describe my daily occurrences as miraculous. And it’s true. I could go on and on about the everyday miracles I live out as I serve children here in Monterrey, Mexico. And then there are moments like last night that feel maybe even too profound and beautiful to merely describe as miraculous.
Lately, a Celtic concept has captivated me and it sometimes seems closer to what I am experiencing than the idea of miracles. It’s called “thin places”. It can be defined as a space where the boundary between heaven and earth is thin. I find myself praying for God to let His kingdom come. And sometimes his kingdom does come down, open up and heaven feels so close to earth. Thin places.
For the last several months and weeks, we have been in the midst of detail preparation for an annual party hosted by a visiting mission trip team called Las Aguilas. The party is called a tent party because we rent giant tents and underneath them on the Back2Back campus, we gather all the children’s homes that we serve. We eat delicious steak tacos and then worship Jesus all together.
The last thing I expected was a moment I will now call a thin place. Three brothers I serve, all of whom carry a darkness in their eyes and walls around their hearts as a result of abandonment and abuse, surrounded me under that tent. Front row. Jumping up and down as we sang praise songs to Jesus.
“I give you glory,” they sang. “You are my freedom.”
The boys were not only listening to and joining in with those words, but they were engaging with their whole bodies as sweat dripped down our foreheads. Big smiles. Joy. Freedom. Laughter.
In that moment, holding hands and jumping with the three boys and other children from their children’s home, I glimpsed heaven’s victory. I experienced a thin place.
Jenn Holden is living out her God-given dream in Monterrey, Mexico, serving orphan and vulnerable children with Back2Back Ministries.