An afternoon of grace at home...

Instead of heading out to Yale's art museum today (they have a stunning exhibit re: art made of wood) we sipped tea on the back porch, read the NY Times and decided to do some yard work.  After all, the rain will return tomorrow and it is in the 70s.  After a hard winter there is always debris to collect, leaves to be raked one more time and weeds to be pulled. 

After I quit - blisters on my hands and sore back - I had to take a few pictures. And when I sat down to post them, my mind took me back to a quote from Martha Nussbaum: Wonder and awe are akin, but distinct: wonder is outward-moving, exuberant, whereas awe is linked with bending or making oneself small.  In wonder I want to leap or run, in awe to kneel.

Our small home in the Berkshires - surrounded as it is with trees and flowers both beautiful and fragrant - evokes a sense of quiet peace  and even awe in my heart.  It is a contemplative place just beyond all the busyness of ministry - a shared sanctuary with Dianne - where rest and refreshment is abundant.  It isn't big enough to do a lot of entertaining and that brings it a special grace.  There is a lot of work to do on this place this spring and summer - but for now I am simply savoring the beauty.