Yesterday was one of those rare sunny all day long days on Iona, and my friend and I took a walk across the island. The small paved road turns into a gravel road which turns into a path which ends at the sea. The shore is covered in extraordinary rocks, all colours, large and small, all worn smooth by water and wind. Like baptism and the Holy Spirit.

It is a custom on Iona to take one of those rocks and throw it into the sea, throwing with it those things we want God to help us let go of in our lives. The tossing of the rock is the prayer.

I carefully chose my prayer rock and gave God all that was hurting in my heart and threw it into the waters of the blue sea.

As is also the custom, as I walked from sea to shore and back to the path, I chose one rock to take with me to remind me of new beginnings in Christ.

Today we hike to the north end of the island to yet another beach. Along the way, the plan is to scale the highest point on Iona, all three hundred feet. Rain or shine we walk and see what God has in store.

As St Augustine said, “All shall be Amen and Alleluia.”

The sun is streaming in the window as I sit enjoying a cappacino.

I had an email from a member of my parish who thought she might be intruding on my Sabbatical if she responded with a comment to my blog. Absolutely not!!!! It’s great to know someone is reading these wee iPhone blogs.

It is a walk by the sea up three hills, across three streams, and through three gates to take the short cut for morning worship at the Abbey.

There are three houses of worship on the Isle of Iona (Church of Scotland, Roman Catholic, and Iona Community) which schedule their worship so that a pilgrim can attend all six services a day. I’ve been a bit more selective so far–choosing one morning and one evening worship each day.

There are many other moments and places to stop and be with God. It is a Sabbatical after all. Today I’ll be using a book written by a member of the Iona Community, Around a Thin Place, as my devotional guide. I’ll be hiking to the crossroads, Machair, and Hill of the Angels–and whatever adventures God has in store.

Easy flight to Amsterdam, and a 3+ wait for the flight to Scotland. Time for a good cup of coffee and pleasant pass times of knitting, journaling, and reading in the very welcoming public waiting area. We left Atlanta at 3 PM yesterday, and it’s still dark here at 7 AM.

One of the books I brought for this trip is Mary Earle’s Holy Companions: Spiritual Practices from the Celtic Saints. Today I am reading about St. Columba, who began a monastery on the Isle of Iona in the 6th century.

Here are some of his words:

Let me bless almighty God, whose power extends over sea and land…..
Let me study sacred books to calm my soul;
I pray for peace, kneeling at heaven’s gates.
Let me do my daily work…
Let me say my daily prayers, sometimes chanting, sometimes quiet, always thanking God….

I offer these words particularly to those
being confirmed at St. Mary’s today:
Ryne, Deede, Bill, Claire, Holden, Trevor,Michael, Melanie, and Erika.

I’m praying for you, especially today.

I’m now seated at Atlanta Hartsfield airport in the beautiful new Terminal F waiting for my plane to Glasgow via Amsterdam. It’s the third trip of my Sabbatical–destinations are Isle of Iona and Lindisfarne (Holy Island).

I’m going with my new camera (birthday present from my mom). Somewhere in the air between Tel Aviv and Newark I realised that I didn’t have my pretty blue camera, dented as it was from too many drops. As upset as I was about the loss of the camera, what I was really upset about was the loss of three camera cards full of pictures. I was especially upset because when I went to Turkey seven years ago, my camera was stolen and all photos were lost. Not again!

I knew the last place I’d used it (getting coffee at Aroma with my brother). As soon as I landed in Newark, I began working out how I could locate it. Many, many, many emails and many, many, many (unanswered) phone calls later by me and two other dear people, I connected with the right person who could tell me that my camera had been found.

The next challenge was finding someone who could go to the Tel Aviv airport to fetch it for me (no mailing available). Thanks to my brother, a friend of a friend is coming to Houston via Tel Aviv around the first of November and will bring it with her. I can certainly wait!

I am thankful beyond measure that this fervent answer to prayer was a yes.
Thanks, God, and whoever found my camera and turned it into lost and found. Abundant blessings be upon you.