Advent Traveling Mercies

The long day of journeying back to the rectory is nearly half way through. As much as I love to visit places away from home, I still struggle with the anxiety of the uncertainty of travel. I tend to do pretty well, usually, with the changes and chances of ordinary daily life; I like to think it’s because I trust God for pretty much whatever happens. Travel that involves airplanes has countless opportunities for disaster, most of which are out of my control.

The fact that I would use disaster for most of those things that are simply inconveniences speaks to a place for continued spiritual growth. When the anxiety mounts, I try to remember to pray. I’ve also been learning to do a mantra of reminders–did I ever not make it to where I was going? Did I ever die?

Of course not.

The other place that God and I are working on is the inconvenience and uncertainty of delays. Somewhere on this trip I heard something about the gift of delays. They give us a time to slow down; to even be a kind of Sabbath.

This reminds me of the joke of not praying for the gift of patience because we might not like the answer to that prayer. If I’m honest I’d prefer not to have the opportunity to practice the gift of delay.

So here I am at the Albequerque airport with time to spare–extra time to visit with my best friend before we get on our different planes. There was even time to stop at our favorite coffee place in Santa Fe, Downtown Subscription, where we shared one of the fabulous local donuts (ahh vacation).

After 9 days of snow, my coat, hat, and gloves are packed until my next trip. For today, I am always, ever learning the truth from the One who has never, is never, will never let me down, and learning that the inconveniences and delays may often contain the very best surprises.

Advent stillness

My last full day away; tomorrow I begin the long trip home made a little sweeter by an unexpected first class upgrade on the flight home.

Still not feeling as well as I’d like to feel, the pace has continued to be slow. I try not to think about the speed that my life will take come Sunday morning.

I’ve had to carefully pick and choose what is the very most essential thing to do each day. Slowed down I also paid more attention to each moment that filled my day.

Morning toast with butter and local honey.

A sunlit walk in a labyrinth partially covered in snow.

Making my annual bead ornament with my best friend.

One last short walk around Taos.

God has been a good travel guide.

Advent Blessings

The gift of doing without is that it can enable us to see how full we actually are–and as emptiness is filled, each drop is full of richness and light.

For the first time this week, I woke up feeling good. This morning I am enjoying my first cup of coffee since Monday at the airport. There is a fire in the fireplace, and for the first morning this week I am enjoying my morning quiet and Bible reading sitting in front of it. Later today it will get to the high 20s–warm enough in the sunshine to walk into town–the first time this week I’ve felt well enough and warm enough to do so.

Yesterday I felt well enough to start my Advent cards. Creating cards is a tradition my best friend and I have practiced for nearly all the years we’ve traveled together. I’ll make less cards this year because there’s something else I want to do.

I am so very grateful for my St. Mary’s family and all they have given to me. My administrative assistant printed cards (and bonus return labels, too) with our 2014 money stewardship mission, Love All, logo on it. I’m adding some personal touches and writing a note to the 100 folks who’ve made a 2014 pledge. I’m three days behind because of getting sick, and I may not finish on this retreat as I’d planned. I’ll spend the morning seeing how far along I can get.

Meanwhile, I hold in prayer today all those who are cold and have little hope of being warm.

All those who have no appetite.

All those who are hungry and have little hope of bring filled.

All those who are sick in body and have no one to care for them.

This morning I give thanks to God for having a warm place to live and warm clothes to wear;

for once again enjoying food, especially my morning coffee;

and that I have so many, many folks who care and pray for me.

Advent Sickness

I know I’m sick when I don’t want to take photos or eat; I know something is amiss when I go out to eat at a northern New Mexico restaurant and order chicken soup instead of blue corn cheese enchiladas.

Monday I started feeling achy and tired and nauseous. By Monday night I knew that I was really ill and went to bed the minute I arrived at my casita in Taos. On Tuesday, I already had an appointment with Bonnie, a massage therapist with healing hands, and since I was pretty sure it was altitude sickness and I wasn’t contagious, I kept the appointment.

Her diagnosis? With the severe cold (below zero since I started traveling last Thursday) along with altitude change from Houston (49 feet) to Bend (3700 feet) to Denver (mile high) to Taos (7000 feet) plus coming on this trip worn out from this past autumn, I had a good dose of altitude sickness.

One of my daily devotionals for Advent is one written by Jan Richardson with her husband Gary, “Illuminated 2013: An online journey into the heart of Christmas.” In today’s blessing there is a line: for the older woman who “feels in her flesh the measure of her days.”

When we are younger, we look back on our lives and delight in all of the things we used not to be able to do that now we can. There’s another point in our lives, if we are given the gift of years, that we are aware of the things we used to do but now can’t.

This itinerary of Advent travel would have been little challenge a few years ago, but this year it has laid me flat. However, I find myself not grieving this change. I can float and dance with the things that I can’t do and be aware of the many gifts of life that God continues to pour down on me.

Meanwhile, I have a beautiful place to rest and my best friend has fetched me bland foods. It is really too cold to spend much time outside, and we have a tablefull of crafts we brought to do. I am hour by hour feeling better and the slower pace is most appropriate for an Advent rest of waiting.

In a little bit we’ll drive to a potter friend’s for tea and tomorrow it will be warmer. This may not be the trip we’d planned but it is perfect for today.