I spent some time reading Under the Unpredictable Plant which was exactly the right book for this point in my journey....(thank you hugely, M, for recommending it). Will hope to write something about that before too long,- meanwhile, if you know the book, pages 86/88 will shortly be engraved in letters of fire above my desk, my bed and anywhere else I might reasonably stop for long enough to read them.
Sheldon is a good place. Not as totally "mine" as Llan, but still good, and with not one but two really lovely prayer spaces which welcomed and adopted me.
The weather wasn't amazing, but I did manage 3 good walks, during the first of which I met a parable. I was heading back down the hill towards Sheldon, and enjoying the sight of two kestrels soaring effortlessly some way away. They were totally at home in their element, resting on the wind, completely focussed on being themselves. As I walked, one of them came closer, close enough for me to see that one wing was damaged...a chunk of feathers missing, which spoiled the graceful outline when seen close to. But that made not a bit of difference to the way the bird hovered and soared, the epitome of grace.
In a week in which I found myself looking quite hard at bits of myself I'd much prefer to ignore, it was good to be reminded that the parts of me that are broken or diminished don't have to spoil my response to God's call to be me, for him.
Oh, and that night the lectionary gave me...yes, you've guessed,
my old friend Isaiah 40
those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles
So, that's what I did. Spent some happy time waiting with God.
Glad you had a good week. Trust me, from where I'm standing you appear to soar quite nicely ;-)
ReplyDeleteAs for 'waiting with God', trouble is I all to often find it seems more like Waiting for Godot...
It sounds truly wonder--ful. I'm happy for you!
ReplyDeleteI love the Unpredictable Plant, it is such a useful and challenging book.
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a good time apart, and maybe we should just send the whole Communion on retreat for a week.
Hello! This is Amy, from Koinonia and all that. Sam ordered me to your blog so here I am :)
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say thank you for the labyrinth you set up for us recently- you should do those more often, I like them a lot and I believe others feel the same. I did stand around a bit too long with the ice though, so I froze my hand, and then managed to drip candle wax on my other hand and burn it. Punishment for my sins???
Amy, you've gone and made me cry now (nicely)! Thank you...
ReplyDeleteIt's really good to have some of you Koinonia guys dropping in; I promise I'll always be polite about you ;-)
(oh, and I did eventually manage to scrape the wax off the floor in the chancel!)
Oh, Liz...when I was doing Beckett at uni, I read a critic's description of Waiting for Godot as "a thernody of hope delayed, deferred, but never extinguished...".
ReplyDeleteWill that do for now? Hugs x
Only if you can arrange for a guy called Lucky to come and entertain me with a dance while I hang on ;-)
ReplyDelete