Getting Ready

My sabbatical starts in 5 days, and I've been getting ready for several weeks now. What to take with me? What do I need to read? To write on? To think about? And how to leave my "space" as I go. I've been sorting through the piles of papers that always seem to multiply, filing, making new piles, putting the piles into boxes so they don't look so awful . . . you get the idea. And strangely, although it's been crazy around here, I'm feeling that Sabbath feeling already. Maybe it has to do with making the space around me more serene, more orderly. Maybe it is just looking forward to days without schedules or appointments or deadlines. I'm sure the days will pass too quickly, and I'll be back. I pray that making space and time will help me get back in touch with my deepest self and with God--both get squeezed out sometimes with busyness. It's hard to step away from dear friends and colleagues, and from the life I lead when I am "at church." I realized this afternoon that I spend much more time here than in my home (if you don't count sleeping). I'll miss it. There is always a loss that goes with a gain, an ending with a beginning. But, here goes nothin'--I'm going to take a deep breath for the next three months.