The Simple Spring Challenge

Well folks, spring has finally arrived following an especially cold, windy and brutal winter in the hinterlands of North Dakota. Believe of not, there was a positive side to this long season of being snowed in from one blizzard to the next. Short days sliding into long nights gifted me many hours of reading, Bible study and contemplation while snuggled in with two dogs, a cat and a cup of hot chocolate.

Suddenly, as though someone threw open the shutters, days are warm and sunny, 14 hours long and lengthening. For the first time in 6 months I can walk around the yard and fields gazing at debris blown in like tumbleweeds and of course the miscellaneous stuff buried in the first snow of last November. Sun pours into the windows through layers of "snert" left by the aforementioned blizzards. 

Home ownership complicates our lives. Many times I mumble to myself, "I'm ready for the condo."

So, just how does a contemplative religious deal with the complexity of caring for a home
and yard while maintaining a simple life? While this is still something I am figuring out, here are a few suggestions.

1. Set priorities
My priority is living a contemplative life in prayer and service to God. Snert can wait, praying the Daily Office will not. My home will never be featured in a magazine, but it is a place of peace and a comfortable retreat for those seeking solitude.

2. Live in the presence of God
Seasonal chores have the potential to be a prayer of praise to our Creator. Raking dead leaves, cleaning flower beds and planting seeds enable one to be intimately connected to the earth, creation and the millenia of human and nonhuman inhabitants who lived on the land.

3. If it doesn't get done, it doesn't get done
We have small field on the south side of the lilac bushes that really ought to be weeded and something useful planted in order to at least prevent the weeds from growing and spreading. It is the last project of every year and quite honestly, not much gets done. I cut the burdock and that is about it. Que sera, sera. I look up to caress the lake with my eyes, cherish the birds flying, singing and swimming and thank God for the beauty of my surroundings.