Time
During the eight days of the first leg of this mini-sabbatical and during the nineteen days of this leg, I have made it my intention to slow down, to let time just unfold. I have spent countless hours sitting in a chair observing the water as it shifts and noticing the algae bloom as it moves and reveals the current of the water. I have spent countless hours being attentive to the Great Blue Heron, and captured it’s statuesque beauty in photos. I have laughed at the squirrels and given thanks every morning when the baby rabbit appears with the mom. I have been awe struck by the beauty of the morning sun rising over the water and the graceful colors of nature in morning: pale pink, blue, green. I have read, and painted icons, and been still. I have tried to let time just unfold, to let time be long and leisurely.
And yet, time has flown by. I am almost packed. Soon I will load the car, tighten the cables holding the kayaks in place on the roof, and lock the door behind me. By noon I will be home. I have a few more days off before I return to the office. This sabbatical time has not been free of work, there has still been some really important things happening that I have had to stay in conversation with. My mind has not left work behind, but it has slowed down, and I have thought less about work. I have been more fluid, which I think is my natural state.
This time has been a gift. I am so grateful to have found this place and to have had the resources, thanks to some sabbatical funds, to stay here. I know many people do not get sabbaticals. I wish more of us had this gift in life. I also know that parish ministry is consuming and demanding and exhausting and exhilarating in a way that other jobs I have held have not been. Sabbaticals and long breaks are important because one needs time to unwind and let go and move into a different kind of interior space, to breath.
This morning I pray the prayer from Jan Richardson’s book, In the Sanctuary of Women (St. Brigid)
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