Seven-Day Practical Faith Blog: The Yurt of God

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I learned about yurts while researching igloos. Why I was researching igloos is a story for another day. For now, let's talk about yurts and how they correspond to our faith journeys.

Yurts originated among the nomadic people of the Central Asian steppes. Much like an igloo, a tent, or a teepee, this circular structure is intended to be temporary. A yurt can be set up or packed in one to four hours.

The yurts pictured are from Central Asia, where the weather at altitude can be quite cold. Their fabric thickness is a half-inch to two inches thick, usually made of wool.

But in warmer areas of the world, a thinner fabric is required, perhaps a quarter-inch to a half-inch thick. Thin yurts are what struck me the most and reminded me of our relationship to God.

We tend to imagine that God is distant, seated on a heavenly throne, perhaps needing a powerful telescope to see us. But a strong image of ancient Celtic Christianity and more modern traditions is that God is not far away. Only a thin veil exists between heaven and earth in respect to both prayer and to our crossing over from life to death.

To me, the thin veil of a yurt represents our journey in life. We are nomads, subject to change on a moment's notice. We seemingly pack up our yurts and keep moving, rarely in the same place we were years ago. All the while, God is a piece of slim fabric away. Our prayers seep through the yurt walls to God's ears, and God whispers back through the walls. We can almost touch God through the fabric, and vice-versa.

But sometimes we might construct thick walls to try to keep God out of our hearts and our lives. It's a wall of our own making, not of God's.

I suggest imagining your life as traveling in a yurt. God exists all around your circular structure and is not far away in either life or in a death crossing. Speak through and reach through your yurt to be close to God.

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