Several years ago, I had the opportunity of spending a week at Ocean City, N.J., where I was intrigued by the benches that lined its miles of boardwalk. Each bench had a plaque with an inscription.

Some expressed gratitude: “In memory of our parents who taught us to love the sound of the surf and the feel of sand between our toes.” Others described a characteristic of the person being honored: “To Joe, who did everything in life from his heart.” Some were poignant, almost bittersweet: “To my beloved, whose presence will always be with me as I sit on this bench looking out at the ocean.” My favorite was a plaque dedicated to “Bailey,” with these words: “You were a good dog.”

I didn’t personally know a single person or animal whose name was inscribed on those benches, but each morning as I walked and read the plaques again, it was as though I could increasingly feel that person or animal’s presence. I could imagine the laughter, the fun, the love shared in that place. I could even hear the barks of sheer delight as I envisioned a tennis ball being thrown and retrieved time and time again.While my practical self admired the brilliance of this fundraising idea to maintain the beach and boardwalk, my spiritual self entered into what is known in Celtic Christianity as a “thin place.” Such places provide an opening into the magnificence and wonder of the world that is beyond this world, time that is beyond this time, the Presence that many of us would call “God.” There is a Celtic saying that heaven and earth are only three feet apart but in the thin places, that distance is even smaller. It’s as though, if but for an instant, the veil that separates heaven and earth is lifted and we are given a glimpse of our connection with all that is and all that ever has been.

To the untrained eye, such “thin places” may seem like a mere coincidence, but with the eyes of faith we can experience them as miracles, where the divine and human meet with a sacred, passionate, intimate kiss.

One of the things I believe Jesus wanted to teach us is that all of life is actually “a thin place,” if we but open our eyes and hearts to the experience. Perhaps this is what the Gospel of John was pointing to when it said that the eternal, divine word became flesh and dwelt among us. Perhaps this is part of what Jesus was trying to help us understand when he taught over and over again that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. It is here and now. It is present within us and around us and among us.

I yearn to see and experience this realm of love and grace all the time, but since I’m not there yet, I will simply say “Thank you, thank you, God!” every time I experience one of these “thin places.”