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Wednesday, December 12, 2007

A trip to a monastery

I’ve often had the thought that it would be nice to escape to a monastery for some time away. It sounds like such a peaceful place…. so focused, with an intensity that would freeing. Plus, I always like the sound of the men singing when I see one on TV.

I guess it’s highly improbable that I’ll ever get to be a monk - -ok, impossible, considering my femaleness – but I do feel like I just had a brief glimpse into something very much like my conception of a monastery.

I went for a walk late in the afternoon, and as I walked I listened to a couple of podcasts we had downloaded (don’t I sound so modern?), based on a recommendation from our good-recommender-friends, Bryan and Jen. These particular podcasts were based on Advent, and the segments were filled with beautiful singing (in Latin—I think), Scripture passages read by serene British voices, long pauses, even bells chiming. I immediately felt like I was being whisked away to another place. The man in my ear was reading, “God is love… Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him… There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear…” The mysticism of it all was getting to me.

As I came around a bend and saw the afternoon sun reaching out over the trees and field, I found myself breathing deeply and smiling. And then I began to see all kinds of things around me, full of wonder…

…A young boy riding his bike home from school actually looked me in the eye, smiled and said hello… A 3-foot-tall blue heron was perched on the top of the roof of a house I passed… The candles in the windows of houses were coming on as the sun was getting lower…. Two little girls were conferring together next to their bikes – I remember the sweetness of friendship at that age… The leaves on a tree were glowing as the fading sunlight hit them…

As I got closer to home the voice in my ear was reading,

“The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God…. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road….”

I looked down at my son I was pushing in his stroller, at his fuzzy little head, at the pudgy little knees under his shorts. How blessed he is to be in this place in this world with this God. I hope he, too, becomes impressed with that. Maybe he’ll get to go to a monastery for real someday, but if not, I hope he, too, has moments filled with wonder and pure joy, as this walk was for me.

This picture sums up the feeling I had on that walk. As I was raking our very leafy yard and gardens, I suddenly unearthed this Gerber daisy -- in December! It was growing under a pile of leaves… and while everything around it is looking pretty faded and brown (even its own leaves), look how perfect and vibrant it is! THAT is what I was feeling.

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