Endings and new beginnings

21^st -29^th November

I’ve been at home, enjoying my final sabbatical days, whilst getting ready for tomorrow when normal life and working patterns resume.  It has been good to regroup and refocus, and settle back into my home. It has been a bit more eventful than I wanted with leaking radiators (and water dripping through the living room ceiling!), a flat tyre and the lounge TV giving up on me!  On a much more positive note, the highlight of this time was definitely the 130^th  celebrations for Christ Church – which was a great and joyful occasion – and fabulous to see so many giving thanks for our caring community in South Nutfield.

So today I am saying goodbye and farewell to this time of refreshment, reading, renewal, reflection and recreation.

• Refreshment – through worship and prayer – particularly being able to concentrate on the presence of God in worship
• Reading – through studying particularly material looking at ‘leading with emotional intelligence’
• Renewal – through walking and crafting, and concentrating on being in the moment
• Reflection – through thinking through theologically and working through life lessons, plus developing training materials on ‘leading with emotional intelligence’
• Recreation – through many ways – particularly through enjoying the natural world on foot, friendships, laughter and crafting

Tomorrow I am saying hello again to my dual role ministry as we draw into the time of advent, and the busyness Christmas brings. I am hoping to bring some of life lessons from my sabbatical “Rs” into the days ahead.  My abiding feeling today is thankfulness for this time I have had to be, for all that has been and all that will be, and for the capable team at Christ Church. It has been a time of great blessing, which I am sure will energise the days ahead.

Thank you for travelling with me as I have written this blog. I will continue to add updates to the ‘adventures of Alison Way’ from time to time, but clearly after today I will have to change the study leave 2018 strap line!

On my final day – I had a brief and very windy walk on the sea front at Brighton – and my mind returned to the coast path of Wales… I’ll be back!