Shifting Light

How strange to think about what a different world we're in this Sunday from the world we were in last Sunday, July 21.  President Biden has withdrawn from the 2024 presidential race, and there is much more enthusiasm for Kamela Harris than I thought there would be.

It's a different world from Sunday a month ago.  For about a week or two, I tried walking before we left for church.  If I left the house right at 6 a.m., I could get it done, and there was enough light.  Now the light has shifted, ever so slightly, and there is no daylight at 6 a.m.  I could take a flashlight, but it's easier to wait until later or to have Sunday as a day off of exercise.  I am not afraid of bears or rapists or other predators, so much as I am afraid of tripping or slipping.

I think of a year ago, when I saw the first red leaves on a tree at a higher elevation.  Now I am seeing signs of  fall all around.  A year ago, I was thinking about my return to the in-person classroom and feeling a bit of --worry is too strong a word, as is trepidation.  It was some lighter form of those emotions.  Now I am returning to a full-time load and feeling those same emotions.  It's me, asking, "Can I really do this and teach my online classes and take seminary classes while continuing to preach every Sunday?"  

I'm fairly sure that I can, otherwise I wouldn't do this to myself.  I'm pushing myself a bit more than I would ordinarily to get the last required seminary classes completed while they're in a delivery mode that works for me.  I won't have as much time for other things, like pleasure reading, but it will be worth it.

I've been in pleasure reading mode for a few days now.  Yesterday afternoon, I sat down and read a book from start to finish, Celeste Ng's All the Things I Never Told You, her first novel.  I really wanted to find out what happened, and I was enjoying the immersion experience.  Some part of my brain was rejoicing and saying, "I can still do this!  I can read a book without being distracted by the 101 things that want to pull me away."

This week is my last full week before I return to the pre-semester work duties at Spartanburg Methodist College.  Let me make the most of this week.  Let me write a poem or two.  Let me bake and let me remember to enjoy the seasonal treats that won't be here much longer.  Let me send some work out to journals that open for submissions on August 1.  Let me get some appointments (dermatologist, hair, car) done before the schedule intensifies.  Let me sew some placemats out of the gorgeous cloth I bought.  

Let me enjoy it all!