It's time...

          I am in a season of transition.  And it is time.

          It is time for me to go on Sabbatical, to have space for myself, to step out of serving a congregation for a few months, to step away from the intensity of raising children (they are now all in college).  It is time for me to carve out space for rest, renewal, prayer and reflection.  

          It is also time for me to work through some of the traumas of the past that have not had space to be dealt with in depth. Some of these are presenting themselves now in a way that is gently calling me to pay attention and to learn the lessons that were present in those events. It is time to be intentional in healing, imagining, and reconnecting with God.

          It is time for me to begin writing again regularly. COVID shut me down in terms of my writing.  I've continued to work on my book, but that work at this time is strictly editing and is less a creative endeavor than a reviewing experience. It is time to start writing again, and to listen for where I'm being led in terms of using my voice.

          It is time for me to build my garden. I mean that literally, as the focus on my Sabbatical is garden centered.  But I also mean it metaphorically. I will be digging in the dirt of my life, planting seeds for flowers and trees to grow from the mud and silt, hoeing up the weeds that have infested and taken over areas that need rototilling, churning up the worms that help provide needed nutrients and rooting out the pests that are destructive. 

         It is time for me to move my feet forward. I will be walking part of the Camino de Santiago with my son for a couple weeks: doing the work of talking, listening, and actively moving forward in place, time, space and in the inner steps of spiritual pilgrimage.

          It is time for me to breathe, deeply.  For those who are interested, I will take you along on my journeys of Sabbatical through my writing once more.  I invite you to join me for the journey.