God in the Bathroom

Over the last while I've felt like preaching a sermon called "Bathroom Sanctuary". Some of the coolest stuff happens in bathrooms (also some of the worst depending on how you look at it). For me, it's a safe retreat from the demands of life (or a response to the "demands of life", again, depending on how you look at it). It's a place where reality happens. There's not much pretending in the bathroom. What is-is! I do what needs to be done (answering nature calls) and reveal what I really look like and, because of that, most humans don't want to be around me at that point in time, nor do I want them around! But, in the bathroom sanctuary of all that revealing reality, I find it a place where God can be very present. As I experience some of life's simplest, yet greatest joys (warm cleansing water in the shower or "relief" on the throne) I find worship (gratitude) happening towards God. I find it a place to reflect. I find it a place to let God be a part of my life. I also find it a place to grumble. A place to struggle. A place to be with just me and God!

Listening to a podcast, with author Anne Lamott (I'll share about her books sometime), I was interested to hear her talk about how the bathroom is a great place for her to be with God also. For her, it's a place to be "in the present", which as she said, "is where God is". I thought that was very neat. God's not running from present reality. He's deeply immersed in it.

For me (at least at times), the bathroom better fits the description of a Godly sanctuary than a religious clubhouse main meeting room.