Rest, renewal, and blessing
On Sunday evening, I turned in my last assignment for the last classes in the coursework phase of my PhD. When the next quarter begins in a couple weeks, I will be officially entering the research and dissertation phase. It's exciting, exhilarating, even. And I am exhausted.
I am not here to complain about being exhausted, though, but to celebrate the week K and I are devoting to renewal and rest and maybe even a little romance. We are at a beautiful mountain resort in Virginia, in probably one of their least busy times of year. Given the hard freeze we just got a couple nights ago, we saw yesterday after we arrived that snowmaking operations have started. And this morning I peeked out my window to see staff members stringing lights and putting out decorations for the winter holidays. (They put on a big do for Thanksgiving.) While we have a couple of outings planned for our week up on top of the mountain here, we have mostly planned to enjoy the gorgeous scenery of the Blue Ridge and the hospitality and comfort of the resort.
We had a rough slog yesterday--two 50-ish ladies coping with heavy bags and many stairs--and we have plenty of aches and pains today. But we have medications! And a bathtub for soaking! And a lovely king-sized bed and a comfy couch and this lovely wingback chair (with its matching ottoman)! And we'll do a little walking today, though we'll leave the heavy bags for another day.
I have felt the restorative powers of the mountains
already taking root in my soul.
The mountains sing to me;
the mountains claim me;
the mountains own me.
The wind on the ridge whispers in my ears,
and the trees dance around me.
You are home, they say;
come and be at home, here where the land folds.
Wrap yourself in our folds like a cloak,
and wear us with you always.
For you are our daughter, and we are your mother.
Delight in the dancing of your sisters, our trees,
and laugh with your brothers, our streams.
I have been thinking a lot about blessing lately. The daily portions of the Torah are in the story of Abraham and Sarah right now, and I am always inspired by God telling Abraham that he and his descendants will be a blessing to the nations. It isn't that we are to bring a blessing or to give a blessing, but to be a blessing. And what does that mean? What kind of a blessing can one person be? We can see lives like that of Mother Theresa or Rabbi Jonathan Sacks or the Dalai Lama; they certainly have been a blessing to the world. It's harder to see how one regular person, working through the routine of life, can be a blessing. What goals should I set? How will I know I am blessing enough? Do I accomplish this once and then move on? Just tell me what to do, and I can do it!
And it's why, as soon as I learned that the top-level domain .ing exists--by visiting a website that ended with bless.ing--I purchased sarahsbless.ing and saraisbless.ing. And wished I'd purchased miriamsbless.ing as well. (If it's available, I still might!) Because Abraham is to be a blessing to nations, to populations, to big things. I don't know how to be a blessing to big things like that. But I can be a blessing in small things. I can give a smile to the lady working the drive-through window at Wendy's. I can be kind to a friend... or a stranger. I can make K's favorite supper or surprise her with cheesecake. I can talk quietly with the mourning dove in the tree, without insisting on aggressive eye contact. I can support my colleagues. I can be a blessing to the lives I touch.
And that, I believe, is Sarah's blessing. Sarah is a blessing for small things. When we become Sarah's blessing, we are a blessing to our own microcosm. Some may be intended for blessing nations, but most of us are not. Most of us have only a small world to serve. And when we live as a blessing in that world, then we are living as God wants us to.
How will you be a blessing today? How will you be Sarah?