Packing again

Only a few more days here at Little Portion before I get back on a plane and fly 24 hours to Honiara, Solomon Islands. I will cross the date line and completely miss Feb 14. No Valentines for me!!

What a great time I have had here. It has been absorbing, healing, fun. Mostly I have done projects around the friary. I grew up in a family that loved to do projects, so when I get the chance that is what I do. It's been cleaning, raking, pruning, cooking. I won't enumerate every little thing.

High on the list of wonderful things though was a retreat the brothers from Little Portion took together at a Catholic retreat center on Ender's Island near Mystic Connecticut. Amazing scenery, great food, and lots of time to pray. I am very grateful for that time.

And I highly recommend going away for several days. It requires a ruthless streak--co-dependent no more! Just go and do it, there is never a perfect time, a hassle-free way of getting away, even for friars. But the house didn't burn down, everything was in good shape on our return.

I finished two books on the retreat: Ravished by Beauty by Belden C. Lane, a surprising book on the contributions of Reformed Spirituality to thinking about the environment. I LOVED the book, and made me re-think who the puritans were. The Bibilical approach to the natural world and caring for it was energizing.

The other book I read was "Lit" by Mary Karr. An engrossing story of her recovery. It made my cry and laugh out loud.