Pickles the cat makes her entry at 5.30am - following her normal route across the backs of our pillows for maximum effect. Her kneading and purring are replaced by a very loud thump [considering she only weighs 3kg] and then the scratching of the chair begins - always guaranteed to get one of us up and running.
Traffic noise fills the road outside our front door as the city wakes.
I am home.
What a contrast to the last few days.
What a reality for most of us, most of the world, who don't have the luxury of a place of retreat and who have to do the best they can to enable God-awareness to seep into the fabric of the day.
I don't know about you but I am usually okay at taking quality 'God-time' in the morning and I set off into the day well resourced and light of heart. But then - as the day's tasks, conversations, dreams and demands emerge, it's all too easy for the lightness to dissipate. I know I need to stop at regular intervals to re-engage and refresh my connection with the source of all life.
Monastic rules of life recognise that human beings need this regular connection - and there seems to be an increasing interest among Christians in adopting or creating a 'little rule of life' that will provide a framework for slowing down and paying attention to God during the day. If you are interested to take this further, then you might like to visit the Society of St John the Evangelist website
http://www.ssje.org/ . They are currently offering helpful material on 'Growing a rule of life' including a downloadable workbook.
Regular connection with God is a 'work in progress' for us all - but regularly slowing down does make a difference to our capacity for listening to the Spirit of Jesus, to ourselves and to our communities. Maybe that's something that could be part of your Lenten journey this year?
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