First Days

Perhaps you were wondering - I know I certainly was - how I would spend the first few days of this blessed four month sabbatical.  It was a funny feeling returning home after the wonderful send-off picnic on Sunday and realizing that I did not have to really do anything - especially anything church-related.  I could read the newspaper if I wanted.  I could sit on the porch.  For once, I had nothing on my proverbial "To Do List." 

It was a nice feeling, but I can handle that "do nothing" feeling for about a day!  I actually did return to the church office on Monday morning to finish up some last minute things, and in the afternoon, Joe and Paddy and I put up the patio shelter.  Actually, Joe and Paddy put up the shelter while I puttered around one of the Sunday School classrooms! 

Though that is my last trip to the church until October, it will be a while before I don't instinctively think of my congregation.  I realized that as I drove by Springbrook Rehab the other day, and my first thought was to stop by and visit Diane.  And then I realized that to do so would be to drastically overstep the parameters of this renewal time - something that would be beneficial to no one, including myself.  I share that anecdote with you, so that you can realize the shift in perspective that I am making.  It is a good shift, of course, but I think it will be awhile before conversations about church and church-related "stuff" are not interjected in our meal conversations!

One thing I really want to work on during my renewal time is learning to take one day at a time, living more in the moment than I am used to.  I want to savor each morning, afternoon, and evening rather than always looking ahead to the next trip, the next bit of preparation for the labyrinth, etc.  I am really glad I did so much planning and arranging before this sabbatical began. I know that if I am constantly looking ahead the weeks will fly by, and before I know it, these four months will be over, I will be ordering bulletins for Thanksgiving and Advent, and I won't know where the time has gone.

In general, I have spent these first couple of days relaxing in the best way that I know how.  I have been walking most every day.  I even began wearing my hiking boots in preparation for our Peru trip.  Good thing as they had been accumulating dust in my closet for quite some time now, and they are a bit heavier than I remembered them to be!  I had a long lunch with a friend, spent time with my parents, and read more of a wonderful book entitled Reunion: How We Heal Our Broken Connection To The Earth by Ellen Gunter and Ted Carter. 

I have worked alot around the yard and farm - transplanting day lilies, digging more of my flower garden, weeding the vegetable garden, and enjoying this place that Joe and I call home in a way I have not really been able to before.

Life is good!  Blessings to all of you!

Rev. Nancy