I’m at loose ends.  My new second-string daughter has given me back my morning — she is now able to receive her worldly goods from the movers without my help — and this is good, as this well-intended second-string mom wouldn’t know Lara’s stuff if it hit her in the face. 

So all is well in Lara’s new world — it is exactly as it should be.  And isn’t this what God revealed to that long ago English mystic, Julian of Norwich?–…”that all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”   Truth is truth, no matter when and how and where it is revealed.

So what do I now do with this unexpected gift of time?  It’s nice to have no claim checks for it.   Time just to be is rare, even for me.  Maybe, especially for me, as I tend to pack in more than I can carry with grace.  Lent is a good time to sit and be, to unpack the bulging baggage picked up from all the days that have come before–to take out and examine beliefs once more, to make sure they still fit, if they ever did.  But also to unpack treasured memories, because it is good to remember and to sit bathed in love…. especially when the man you love most is jetting with bags packed toward China….

I’ve been unpacking a lot these past seven months, but not always alone.  As I work through the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius, I connect with reality and truth with the help of my spiritual director and a small group of similarly situated souls at HeartPaths.  It’s proved to be a good work-out.  Already I’ve received many gifts — treasures from the past, a greater awareness of God all around me and the promise of good  things in my future.  Maybe I’ll share in greater detail in another post.  For now, I’m still gaining clarity.  And as I enjoy this unexpected time to rest — it is good to be still and know that all shall be well…