UPKEEP

        It was time. Actually, it was time months ago.  But I finally doned work gloves to weed and rake the Labyrinth.  I'd begun the task back in September. Really?  Yes, September.  Half a weeded Labyrinth was better than none.  I could simply walk over all those things that just won't stop growing! 

        How did it escape me that there would be "upkeep?"  Did I really think those truckloads of gravel would stop things from growing here in the tropics?  In a matter of weeks it seemed that a little moss formed where the palmettos shaded the path, then a little (okay a lot) of humidity turned the moss into soil and voila! things sprouted.  Without diligence on my part, it just kept on growing.

        I find the same to be true in other areas of my life as well. There's a lot of upkeep in having all those books that would take a librarian to keep track of.  For my car, there's oil changes of which a little sticker up in the corner of my windshield is supposed to remind me. Don't get me started on the decorations for the house I thought I needed to simulate a change of seasons in this place where seasons don't seem to change.  I'm just beginning to understand that in addition to all these is the upkeep of my body as I face the grace of a big birthday this year. Upkeep. Much, Much Upkeep.

        Our relationships take upkeep too, to send a note, email, card or call.  We must take time (I've heard this theme before) for people.  We take time for those who are important for us to be attentive to and into whose lives we speak. Friendships,  marriages, family, extended family, co-workers all require time--unhurried, unresented, peace-filled time.

         It's good every once in a while to examine what we intend to keep up.  First to take stock of the commitments we've already made.  Secondly, to consider where on our hiearchy of priorities all this upkeep falls. Thirdly, to make those sometimes difficult decisions to rearrange, reconsider or sometimes to refrain.  Stopping things is easier said than done, even if its something that has become more a chore than a joy.

         Our spiritual life is one of those things that requires upkeep.  And my sense from personal experience is that if we let this upkeep go...none of the other areas of our life are able to thrive. For each of us this upkeep takes different forms.  For most of us it includes regularly meeting for worship with a community of faith, our prayer life, Scripture and acts of service. I'm keenly aware that one size does not fit all. I've gone through many shapes and sizes of spiritual exercise to feed my soul.

         Most of you know that I'm a Spiritual Director.  I see women and men on a monthly basis for conversations bathed in prayer.  For these dear ones this one hour a month is part of the upkeep of their spiritual lives. For me these very same relationships are vital for the upkeep of the call of God on my life.  I feel most like I'm doing what I've been gifted to do in these hours with these people. 

         My personal spiritual upkeep includes daily silence, evening prayers, my own directed relationship, retreats and study. These are the things which, should they become crowded out, would make the rest of my life all the poorer. 

         I reflect on all of this today as a way to follow up with you on your findings as you've begun to pray the Examen.  So often even in its early practice in fits and starts, the Examen bears fruit that makes us see differently and helps us make important decisions about our lives.  It helps us begin to peel away all that is non-essential and get to the sweetness.

        My hope and prayer is that in these first few weeks of the New Year, you've found a rhythm or a new practice to help in the upkeep of the most important relationship you have--exploring what God is doing in you, with you and through you. May you continue to be blessed in the upkeep.
IN PEACE AND JOY, Kathleen Bronagh Weller, THE CELTIC MONK

P.S.  The photo above is a clever vine hut constructed over a bench at the Benedictine Abbey in Rostrevor, Northern Ireland.  I did look for a photo of weeds--and I will let you imagine the photos
that come up when you Google "weed photo."  I am a child of the 60's and didn't know better.