Here in the UK it is the end of our academic year and the start of the ‘long holiday’. It’s a great time – there is always a feeling of satisfaction and achievement at the end of term that puts all the everyday ups and downs into perspective.
Something I always love doing at the start of the holidays is clearing out – getting rid of the pieces of paper, the old displays, the bits and pieces that accumulate in drawers and cupboards. So I have had a good clear out; the new display boards are ready, my files are reorganised – its such
a good feeling!
All this clearing out made me think about the other bits of clutter – the unfinished business of the year, the disappointments, the dreams and plans… as FCJ’s, like many other religious groups, we are really fortunate to have the tradition of making an annual retreat, and I usually do so in the summer months: 8 days spent sorting through the interior ‘clutter’ of my life, clearing the way a little, recognising where God is in my life – I can’t wait!
July 23, 2009 at 10:16 am |
The best story I heard lately: (told by Prof. Lesch, Astrophycisist at the University of München). In the sixties, when in the USA they tried to finish the Rocket that would take the first man to land on the moon, President Kennedy visited the building site. There he saw a man sweeping the floor. And he asked him: What are you doing? The man clicked his heels and said: “Mister President, I am helping the United States to send the first man to the moon!”
He knew what he was about, he was proud to do his bit. In the huge work that is going on on the globe, each one of us only does a “sweeping” bit, but when we know what for, then it becomes an absolutely indispensable contribution. There is so much that needs cleaning up.
July 23, 2009 at 12:18 pm |
What a lovely story! Thanks for sharing it!
July 23, 2009 at 3:59 pm |
This reminds me of something I heard during my retreat: The Jewish tradition holds that when I am doing “soul” work (e.g. being on retreat), I am affecting the whole planet.
July 25, 2009 at 5:41 am |
It’s all about how we see things isn’t it? Seeing our own contribution and that of others as important. We all make a difference and how vital that we each make that difference in our own unique way!
July 27, 2009 at 8:05 pm |
I am waiting in hope to hear that the program in which I teach at the University of Alabama is getting a new “home”…. The building where we have been housed for 15 years has been condemned…it would cost more to bring it up to building code than to tear it down and build a better building on the site. So in June, we made a proposal to the Tucsaloosa City Schools to use an un-used portion of a school quite near the campus for the next three years, until the University has a suitable space for us.
If we get permission to move, MAP will enjoy a huge clear out….. We recently got a big award and will not have to be examined for at least three more years, so we are planning to throw away all the student projects and work we ‘ve been saving since we moved into that space! We will have the opportunity to do what Lynne did: re-organize all the files, get rid of all the old papers, and make a fresh, clean start! I can hardly wait!
It will be a big job, of course, but so many of our graduates have offered to come back to campus and help with the moving. It will be an occasion to celebrate, to catch up on news, and to work together again. How wonderful that God puts such times in our lives!!!!!!!!!