The Church Of The Holy Rood -- Wool, Dorset, U.K.
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The Church Of The Holy Rood -- Wool, Dorset, U.K.
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Making Space to Enrich Our LivesThere are few sounds more typical of an English summer than the singing of a skylark high above the fields. Sadly, numbers of skylarks are in decline. However, recent research has shown that leaving a small, unsown patch in the middle of a field can lead to an increase in their numbers. Without gaps in the densely-planted crops it’s harder for the skylark to feed, breed and flourish. Leave spaces and they will thrive. Leaving land uncultivated like this goes against the grain. Maximising profits demands the exploitation of our resources to the full. But at what price? The loss of skylarks and other flora and fauna that enrich our environment. The same is true of ourselves. We need time and space in the midst of the “busy-ness” of life for holidays and recreations, and for stillness and contemplation. Without these times we become driven, susceptible to burn-out, in danger of losing touch with others and the spiritual dimension to life. Trying to make maximum use of our limited time leaves us poorer not richer. A regular time of rest is a God-given pattern: on the seventh day, God rested from his work of creation. Read the gospels and we find Jesus carved out time for rest, recreation and prayer away from the demands constantly being made upon him. Many of us will take a holiday over the summer as a much needed break from the normal routine of work. It may be harder to build in the times for spiritual refreshment, day by day, but we need them just as much as these other times and rest, to develop the rich diversity and depth that is God’s will for each one of us. Henri Nouwen writes: “We have to fashion our own desert, where we can withdraw everyday, shake off our compulsions and dwell in the gentle, healing presence of our Lord.” Your friend and parish priest,
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