Attentiveness

I have now been here at The Open Gate Retreat Centre
on Holy Island, England, for ten weeks. I've washed loads
of dishes and pans, scrubbed a lot of toilets, prepared rooms
for countless guests, and led several dozen Mid-Day and
Evening Prayer chapels. I probably have two or three more
weeks before I head back up to Scotland to work with a min-
ister of the Church of Scotland for twelve months. I have not
received word yet about where I will be headed. I could be
anywhere in Scotland. I have been using a lot of my free
time to prepare to write more for my thesis. I have really
enjoyed having more time to develop my thesis. Soon I
hope to do more writing.

I sense that the Lord has been using my time of volunteer
service here at The Open Gate to form and shape me for
what is ahead of me in Scotland. I have been becoming more
attentive to other people that are our guests at The Open
Gate. It has been a learning experience for me to develop
sensitivity to other people. As a result I have become more
attentive to what is happening in me, especially in regards
to God at work in my life. It has been quite a rewarding ad-
venture for me. The longer I am here on the island, the more
I become attentive to nature: the birds, flowers. grasses, in-
sects, rocks, geological formations, cloud formations, tides,
wind, and rain. It has been an eye opening experience to be-
gin to notice the riches of nature all around me that is such
a treasure of the island. As a result, I have become more at-
tentive to who God is and how God is at work in my life. It
has been a truly blessed time for me here on Holy Island.

Blessings to you and yours,