Exactly one week from today I will be back in my office at Sunset United. I decided it would be good to have one last post on this blog - hopefully sharing some of the gifts of the past 3 months.
One of the books that I have been spending time with is by Krista Tippet: "Becoming Wise: an inquiry into the mystery and art of living." She has a great quote in her chapter on learning from our bodies. She says: "At younger ages our bodies are tuned to learn by novelty. At this stage of life, they incline to greater satisfaction in those things that are routine. Slowing down is accompanied by space for noticing. I am embodied with an awareness that eluded me when my skin was so much more glowy." I love that turn of phrase - it has been a long time since I could describe my skin as "glowy", so I knew exactly what she meant!
Basically she is saying that it is those ordinary, everyday moments that bring her the greatest pleasure these days. That was very clear as we once again were gifted with time on our piece of property in Manitoba. The first weekend we were there was a little chilly - but we were prepared, and it still felt good to be there. These pictures are from October 30th:
One week later (November 6th) we were back, and in typical, unpredictable prairie style, it was a lovely warm weekend! We were able to have our breakfast sitting on lawnchairs looking out over the valley. No need of our dining tent this time - no bugs to be seen! Although there were a few butterflies that flitted by, which surprised us.
As the sun continued to warm the air, it was stunning to see the white trunks of the poplar trees against the amazing blue of the sky. In Halifax it was watching the red, red leaves. Here, it was seeing the trees bare of all their leaves, and stunning in their stark beauty.
The other thing that happens when there are no leaves on the trees, is that you can see through the bush in a whole new way. Usually the underbrush is so thick, that it is hard to see very far. It is kind of nice to have greater clarity - to see the way ahead a little easier. Kind of what I have experienced on this sabbatical - lots of space to gain clarity of thought and to figure out the path that I need to be walking right now.
Before I left Regina, I spent time in conversation with 14 of our "elders" in the congregation. I told them I didn't want to get bored while I was away, so I needed a project to help focus my time. I have had fun writing up those conversations. We are so blessed to have these folk who are all connected to our community, even if they aren't able to be in church with us very often. Once I get back to work, I will figure out how to pull it all together and turn it into a Sabbatical Reflection book for the Sunset community. I will post a couple of the pictures to give you a teaser of what's to come. How could I not smile when I spent time with these people?!?
I know that I am very ready to head back to work. I am missing my Sunset community. I am coming back with a whole new series of stories from my Halifax experience. I have rested, and I have reflected, and I have done my best to truly live into the Sabbath time I have been gifted with. I am spending this last week in rural Manitoba - going for long walks and enjoying the unscheduled moments of each and every day. I will move back into professional mode once I return to city living. In the meantime? It's nice to be living true to my rural roots! Thank God for the gift of this Sabbath time. And thank you to all of you who were able to virtually travel along with me on this path!
