"No rest for the wicked, and the righteous don't need none." This adaptation of the old English proverb is a pronouncement by one of the characters in the lovable Mitford series by Jan Karon, which I am re-reading in these days since that big party I went to on June 12th. Now living with the sweet man who shared it and the new family it created, life is more tender, more luminous, more hopeful.
But it's not any slower.
This week is the final ramping up to the huge Presbyterian Youth Triennium conference held at Purdue University and once again I am going to serve as a group leader, facilitating a "small" group of 30 high school students through the week of interpreting the theme from Esther "For Such a Time as This". I will be putting in 18-hour days and being a substitute mom, pastor, guidance counselor, walking on average 8 miles a day, and missing my family.
I have a ton of thank-you's still to write (note: if you gave us a gift and have not received a thank-you, please know that we are not ungrateful, merely behind) our household still is not integrated, and we are in the process of assembling wardrobe doors from IKEA.
My car is still in the shop. I learned from the dentist I have to have a molar extracted and replaced with an implant. I haven't painted since early June. My in-basket runneth over as much as my cup of blessings. I am trying to re-write resumes and learn to use Twitter.
We have been out of town twice in the past month in addition to our honeymoon, and although it's been grand, I am looking forward to time at home to try to develop some kind of routine and instill some order.
I had to laugh out loud at the character of Dolores Umbridge in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" just before she got her ultimate comeuppance in the forest. Ragged, discouraged, and defeated, she cried, "I just wanted to get a little order!" - or words to that effect. Well, I'm not defeated although I'm feeling slightly ragged and discouraged and really could use some rest.
Bill Cosby once said, "You get plenty of rest when you die". I think a better alternative would be to grab what rest we can in between the high's and low's, and create small islands of order in life. Like one dresser drawer, one bookshelf, or even just the glove box in the car. It may not get the tax return done or the garage cleaned out, but at least you'd find that old receipt for deductible expenses or the good air mattress to take on the next camping trip.
I learned today that George Steinbrenner died. Shortly thereafter, I read a Tweet that he was up in Heaven, firing Billy Martin again. Apparently there is no rest for the wicked, but I say all the righteous and wicked alike need some now and then.
