PREPARING A PLACE FOR US

For five years I worked on the Operations Team at Pendle Hill, a Quaker Retreat Center in Wallingford, Pennsylvania.  The mission of that Team was to provide “radical hospitality” to the people who visited there for rest, reflection, and workshops.  We prepared the space where people could be free from providing basic necessities of their physical lives and focus on meeting their spiritual needs with little or no distractions.  We cooked their meals, cleaned their rooms, and made them as comfortable as possible.  We worked hard so they didn’t have to; we ran quickly so they could walk slowly.

I loved my job.  I worked with and met some truly wonderful and amazing people who influenced my life and provided some wonderful memories.  One of the greatest lessons I learned was the importance of preparation. This lesson has done me well in my personal life, physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Preparation for anything I do is the key to its success.  It is the process of building a good foundation from which to safely build everything I do on.  It generally takes the most time, attention, and work; it generally is the work that is unnoticed, unacknowledged, and unappreciated.  The house cleaners, sou chefs, cooks, and maintenance people remain hidden in the background, behind closed doors; or in Downton Abby language, downstairs from the upstairs.  Of course, this is true in other places as well.  The training an athlete does, the drudgery of playing scales a musician does, the hours of study a student does seems insignificant to the trophy won, the concert performed, or the degree earned.

The person I am in my mind, soul, and spirit, is the result of preparation.  Just as a garden will remain barren if the soil isn’t cultivated and the seeds are not sown, so I must work to prepare a life to my liking.  I cannot reap what I do not sow.

As I grow older I become more reflective of my years that have past by me.  At times I can feel worthless because of my inability to do as much as I could when I was younger.  But if I look again with a perspective of seasonal living, I see that now is what I prepared for; the days I walked quickly allow me now to be fulfilled by walking slowly.  Years of conquest of every idea about God have now led to a greater sense of communion; years of exploration have now led to enjoyment; years of filling have now led to fulfillment; years of struggle have led to simplicity; years of preparation have led to Presence, both with God and with my true self.

I see God as One who honors preparation.  In the beginning He prepared a place for me to live; His creation.  When I got lost God prepared a way back to Him; the crucifixion of His Son.  In the end He will do something new, something Jesus left this earth with the promise to prepare a place for me to dwell with him forever. 

I love to wonder about what kind of a place he is preparing.