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As I sit here in my new office and reflect on the week that has been with the arrival of our things, the problems with getting our car here from down South, the business and the busy-ness of ministry... it is a wonder that we can hear anything, especially the voice of the Master.
Last fall, some clergy friends and I took the time to read a book together about clergy pastoral self care and there was an image out of that book that I want to share with you. When things are crazy and you find that you are at the end of the proverbial rope, what do you do and where do you go. For myself I need a bit of personal sacred space. And for reasons that I don’t always understand it seems to be at my desk. That is my sacred space, my little altar. It is not a very public space like the one up stairs in the sanctuary or even the one in the Chapel. My desk is where so many things begin and end. It is the space where I plan ministry, it is where I prepare to preach, it is where in some sense I lead from in terms of administry of the parish. It where I fill out the registers that note who has been baptized and who has been married and even those who have been buried and move to their reward. This little place is one of the most sacred places I know.
And in a space like this, I can also be still... be still and know that God is God. I can take in the words of scripture and the Spirit reminds me not only of their power but also of their grace and ability to draw me near and to heal me. In the hurried life we live, we can hear God say, I give strength to the weary and increase the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary and the young stumble and fall; but those who place their hope in me will renew their strength – they will mount up with eagle’s wings – they will run and not be weary, they shall walk and not be faint. (Is.40.29-31)
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