Autumn Days

It is absolutely beautiful here today! One of the phrases I have heard here is, "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes," so we'll see how the day plays out. (People sometimes say that about St. Louis, but I think it is actually more true here. Although people here in St. Paul sometimes talk about the humidity which is definitely worse in St. Louis.) The leaves are beginning to change and I think next Friday on my prayer day I may head north for the day. I haven't decided exactly where yet, but I've got a week to plan.

My main image for prayer today has been that of the spiral. While I wasn't at the Chapter where that image was central, it has become a big part of my spirituality and prayer. In the past I was much more of a linear thinker, working from pt. A to pt. B (okay, maybe pt. A to pt. Q as quickly as I could get there...). I love the idea of the spiral. Learning and being and revisiting at increasing depth and widening inclusion. There is a shell with a spiral inside and the water moves in and out in that spiral simultaneously. I am getting my first real glimpses of that moving in and out in terms of contemplation and action. After many years of spiraling out, last year the novitiate was very much a spiraling inward. I'm starting to see how those spirals can move together in balance.

My Tuesday night class, Two Centuries of Women's Theological Creativity, and my time with the women at Sarah's have fit well into the balance. In terms of class, it has been good for me to recognize my experience as one experience of many. While the names in the texts are just historical names for me, it is good to hear the stories of the women in my class who lived those times; to see how I got to be where I am without having even been born for most of it. It is also so good to talk with women at Sarah's from such different cultures, to hear their experiences as women, and to see how far we still have to come as humanity in general in terms of equality and human dignity.

Well, back out to finish my walk and continue my prayer. Happy weekends to all.

--Sarah