Standing Before the Furnace

The following post is in relation to one made previously entitled "Won't You Come In?"

Funny
After choosing to make the Journey to The Furnace, I expected all-hell-to-be-breaking-loose with regard to my mental and emotional state the closer I got...
...even though I knew the One who asked me to go, would also be waiting for me there at the end...
The friend who I thought I saw providing a way out for me, is not here. I am glad of it, and I see now that even if she was here, there is no need to escape from the path.

It's funny, because the blast I was expecting as I got closer to the mouth of the furnace is not now as hot as I once imagined.
The glaring blaze I witnessed from much farther back, while still bright, appears now as a diffused glow.
The burning, melting flames that seared me at that greater distance are no longer present as I stand here before the threshold.
The area in front of the furnace is a cool and green-growing space.
It is almost garden-like.

You know me.
You know I am a "visual/verbal" processor.
I "see" things.
In my head.
I know, I sound crazy.
But the scenario of the Furnace, while spiritualized, is almost tangible to me.
The cool green before the threshold is just as real.
I am reminded of stories of the Celtic Otherworld and the Thin Places of the world.
Side by Side.
I am reminded of Paul The Apostle saying,
"Now we see as through a glass darkly, but when we stand before the Throne we will see Him as He is. Right now we see in part, but then we will see fully."

In my mind's eye I see where I am, and where I am not.
Something within me questions:
Am I already in the furnace? Or am I still on the outside?
I may no longer be able to tell the difference.
But it does not concern me, nor does fear pierce me as it once did when I started this Journey.

It is a "thin place."
And this particular "thin place" is where ever I walk.
I take my "Thin Place" with me.