Speaking of Holy Leisure….

Oh the pleasure of a winter’s rest.

I don’t know when it started exactly. All I know is that over the last 20 years or so I began to love January. Yes it’s bleak, oftentimes grey, damp and cold BUT it’s also still, quiet, and desolate…in an inviting way. It invites me to look within and to reflect on the year I just completed.

As I began my yearly ritual of reflection and contemplation on January 2nd, I felt extra giddy because I had also decided back in December (another story) to add in intentional weekly time for rest and play.

Sitting in front of the warm, cozy fire on Monday morning, with my candle, journals, cup of tea and a decadent plate of cheeses and berries, I realized I was practicing HOLY LEISURE. I had nothing on my agenda for the next 3 days except to rest, dream, contemplate, reflect, play, and create. I became filled with an overwhelming sense of love. I believe it was God’s pleasure. God delighting in me delighting in His gifts of pleasure….a puzzle, art, crochet, quiet, prayer and reflection, decadent food, hot tea, music, photos and journal entries capturing memories from the past year, and space and time to dream.

In that moment of delight, I recalled a line from a poem by Tony Hoagland: 

“Among your duties, pleasure is a thing that also needs accomplishing.”

This winter, may we all find spaces and places where we sense God’s pleasure and delight in our pursuit of good pleasure