Digging, for God's Sake

Baton Rouge, April 2010: Final resting place of Maya the kitty

Yesterday, I finally got to the bottom of the pile of stuff that had built up before, during and after my sabbatical leave. I would like to say that a clean desk, for me, means that my ministry life is running smoothly and is cleaned up, in every sense. Well ... maybe ... but ... The act of cleaning up my desk is just as likely to indicate that I'm either avoiding some thing(s) outside the office or trying to get control when I feel out of control.

Ditto, ditto for cleaning the house or digging in the garden. Cleaning up can be just what needs to be done, and gardening can be simply a wonderfully satisfying act of caring for my space. Or, depending on the ferocity applied, either of those might just be an incredibly cathartic physical exercise in the nick of time.

Sometimes -- well, lots of times -- when I go digging, I dig up something great. The "garden surprise" was a tiny red salamander thingy and was one such blessing that it still makes me smile. Yesterday, in my office cleaning frenzy, I dug up a part of myself that I had lost, and I certainly wasn't expecting that! Grace, you surprised me once again!