Imposed Sabbath

I live in the northwest corner of Arkansas where a heat dome has settled, probably for the remainder of August. We had a couple of nice days early last week when I rode Jo as much as possible and worked in the yard. But now we've been driven inside with no relief in sight. It feels a little like the pandemic. I realized I could treat this time as a kind of extended Sabbath imposed by the weather. I don't have to get out for the sake of children or anyone else, so can use some of this time for the spiritual care I often crowd out with busy tasks.

Last Sunday and today, we have had an adult Sunday school class on Clearing the Cluttered Heart: A Soulful Housecleaning. My friend, Vinita, a gifted spiritual director (as well as author, editor, speaker, and Ignatian expert), has led us and proposed a number of practices we might employ ("Don't try to do all of these!") to clear our hearts and minds for the work God puts before us right now.

Here are a few questions/observations that resonate deeply for me:

• What are some items piled up in my inner room - worries, relationships, guilt, failings, regrets, health?
• Am I assuming responsibility that isn't really mine - another person's happiness, for example?
• What got put in my heart by other people? How is that baggage affecting my current situation?
• Am I holding onto unrealistic expectations?
• What spiritual aspects of life am I curious about?

We were also coached on how to rethink and revise the weight (importance) of the 'clutter' we identified and bring the content of our hearts into better balance with how we wish to live. (Am I spending more energy on this than is wise or helpful?) Some things I've been holding onto can be let go or altered or celebrated. What an ideal set of tasks for a blistering hot summer!

Lord Jesus, my desire is to have you fill my heart. Help me with this journey of discernment and inner housekeeping so I can make more room for you and less room for my worldly distractions. I know you want me to live in the time, place, and circumstances of my life, but there is so much to pull my attention away from what is good and holy. I remember how I could think expansively as a child, with imagination and creative energy. Help me recapture some of that curiosity and optimism now that I know more of the ways of the world. My peace rests in you.

Amen