Behold, I Make All Things New

For me, winter tends to be a quiet season, a lull between the activity of fall and spring. It's sleepy, a time of schedules, of patterns of behavior. Aside from the welcome interruption of Christmas, it's plodding and predictable. Cabin fever is contagious, passed from person to person like the common cold. The lack of extra curricular activities isn't all bad, though. It's a great time to sit at my desk and produce; I know the archive I work in and the book I'm writing are better for it. 

But the sleepy winter is already fading; it is being replaced by new experiences that are also opportunities that invite participation. This is stimulating and interesting, and its happening close to home. Literally! We sisters at the convent I live in is evaluating how we use the space we live in and are planning serious changes that must be implemented within months. This involves joining a committee, meeting with them and the larger group of sisters, then working together to make it happen. We've just started the process, but I look forward to envisioning the future of the sisters in this convent and planning a space that will work for them.

 I also get to be more involved in the town I live in. Enfield has a short-term program for students in public schools, offering a variety of activities from arts and crafts to science experiments to dance classes. A friend of mine volunteered to lead the Kidz Sports program and asked me to be her assistant coach. This made me laugh! I was the kid who hid behind the bleachers in gym class to avoid playing dodge ball. I didn't go to any of my high school games and even skipped a pep rally when they made it part of the school day. And I could go on! But this seemed like just what I had been looking for, a chance to be involved in the town and work directly in service to others. It's been both of those things, and a great way to be active, too. 

When the leadership sisters in my province asked for volunteers to serve on a committee for electing new leaders, I was first struck by my ignorance on the topic. I didn't know anything about how my community does that. It seemed like a wonderful way to be involved in the life of the province, to help my community, and learn something new, too. All three have been a blessing for me! We just met this past weekend, planning the process for electing new leadership sisters. 

"Behold I make all things new!" the Lord told the prophet Isaiah. This has been a time of newness: fresh experiences, learning, and perspectives. It's preparing me for real change. You see, I only have a few more months left at my present convent; I'm moving once the new archive is ready in Michigan. I've lived there before, which makes it both easier and more complicated to return. This brings the tasks of relocating: weeding out my belongings and planning how to get my stuff there. I'm currently in conversation with my province about the particulars of my new living situation, hopeful that I'll live in one of our smaller convents of more active sisters. There's also internal preparation involved, a turning toward the future.