Dirt Under My Nails......

"Pulsatilla vulgaris -
Pasque flower"
You know that spring is really here when these start to bloom here.
I have some of these in my garden, brought by transplant when we moved last sumer. This year I expect to have a few blossoms, but nothing like the array that greeted us at the front door in our other home.

In the garden most of the time I put perennials in the garden once, just to get them planted and growing, and then, will move them a few times, before they are in their 'right' place. I guess I am a bit that way with the furniture in my house, as well. I keep re-arranging until, somehow, things find their right place. Home seems to be made up of the right people, stuff - some useful and some that has meaning and history tied to it, and then, an arrangement which feels comfortable. Being 'at home' seems to require some settling in. Sort of like the turns a dog will do, on coming home to rest. Into the corner, then - turning around and around before laying down. Just to get into the right spot. There is the shaping of the resting spot and of the body, both.

I'm doing the same kind of thing at the church. As we prepare for Easter this year, I have less responsibility for planning and leading worship than some years. The youth group is leading the Easter Sunday service - and I'm delighted about it. However, I also feel a bit like being a mom who hosts the family celebrations each year, finding herself at her daughter-in-law's for the holiday the first time. A nice change, to be sure, but, some bittersweetness, letting go of the cherished role a bit as well. I figure that there will be some different experiences to be had this year - and that will be fine. Just different. I'm turning around and around, and re-making the sacred space inside my head and heart.

In the settling in, both at home and at church, there are signs of new growth, possibilities for new experiences, and the joy and delight of new community. I'm finding my place, and putting down my roots. And I'm watching the garden, for signs of blooming about to begin.