Lenten Garden

Sadly, I wasn't thinking ahead enough to take a
"before" picture, but here is "after".

Yesterday was my day off. It feels a bit odd to have a day off this week as I only have another few days left in the parish, with my final service being on Sunday. After walking the puppy, I took it into my head to do a job that had been annoying me for too long, and I cleared and cut back some climbing plants (botanical skills are zero I'm afraid so I have no idea what they are - only that there is - was -  far too much of them)
About 20 minutes in, I was regretting ever lifting up a pair of shears, but I battled on, and eventually the plants were well and truly pruned. Now I confess, I don't know that they'll definitely recover but I do know that I undertook the same exercise two years ago, and having to repeat it is ample testament to the vigorous nature of the plants. They were so vigorous in fact that they were preventing other things from growing - and so my spring bulbs, of which I am excessively fond, were shaded out and covered up, and as a result will not be the display I was hoping for when they were planted.

This is some of the material cut away.

Cutting away lots of plant material the morning after our Ash Wednesday service gave me plenty of time to think about the spiritual pruning that is traditionally called for during Lent. A time to deliberately and intentionally spend time with God and seek spiritual disciplines to cut away from our lives whatever may be unhelpful and preventing other beautiful things from growing.

 Lent will be odd for me this year as I find myself between posts. There will be time, I hope, as we prepare to move house and I prepare to take up a new post in a completely different context, to engage with some pruning of unnecessary things so that other things will grow. Disengaging from my curacy post has felt quite a lot like pruning, and it has not been a painless exercise. I am aware there is yet more to do, perhaps as the administrative and organisational functions which have taken up so much time of late are handed on, I can re-engage with other spiritual ones, recollect and redefine my identity as priest and child of God. I hope I can end Lent as ready for the resurrection as my garden is for new spring growth.
And remember that I will certainly have to repeat the process again next year.

A day off

Yesterday, I had a day off. That's not in itself unusual. I have a day off every week (one single day off, please note) The problem with having only one day off per week is that I tend to load it up with domestic stuff that needs doing at home. If there's something that needs a proper clean, I tend to do it on my day off. If I need to catch up on personal emails, or other correspondence, I'll do it on my day off. If I need to research some purchase online, I'll do it on my day off. You get the idea.

The problem with this approach is that very often my day off feels like every other day. If I've spent time at my computer, it's a bit like working. I've been in my study. I do a lot of work from home, so if I don't leave it on my day off, it doesn't feel much like a break.

Yesterday, I had coffee in town with my husband, and then got the train to London. I spent the day at the National Gallery (sadly, no Leonardo for me) and then had a long supper with a good University friend. I got home pretty late (or perhaps early, you might say) so today I can feel I have had less sleep than normal.
But here's the thing. I still feel properly refreshed.

Clearly what I need to do more often on my day off is get a change of scene. Get completely away from the house and do something for that is mostly for me. I should be able to do the domestic stuff in the rest of the week (I'm not required to work every waking moment!!) and actually do something else with my day off.
I have IME on Time Management coming up and I hope that might help me to get strategies to get a proper day off. Away from the house. It doesn't have to be London, but it does have to be out.

A good lesson for the start of a New Year, I think.