Thinking back over several years, I remember when I decided I needed to take some time off. I had tried several times to compose a new column and seemed to be existing in a barren wasteland -- no thoughts worth pursuing passed my way.
When this happened, and I am sure it does to all people who have deadlines, it was like reaching a spiritual "dry well." It usually occurs when, for one reason or another, I have not been to church on a regular basis.
It doesn't take many skipped Sunday mornings for me to develop writer's block. I believe in the need for spiritual renewal and I can tell when it is time to take something in in order to give something out. When I find I am not satisfied with my attitude, my treatment of others or when I feel something is missing in my life and my creative expression comes to a standstill, I know it is time to tank up.
I had spent more time than I want to admit sitting in front of my computer screen pecking and erasing aborted attempts to write a meaningful message. I knew God was in my life ... why couldn't I find Him? In an effort to fix the problem, when the next Sunday came along, guess who was in the front row of the congregation, none other than the needy one.
And isn't it interesting that the very next time I sat down to write, a phrase popped into my head and I thought, This is it! The phrase was "back into the fold" and since that was where I needed to be, it seemed to be fitting for the occasion. And as it turned out, it was the right phrase for several reasons.
My daughter had accepted a job in the area where we were living and she was back in my fold. Not only was she close to our home, but her office was within a mile of mine. She was within just a few blocks from where she grew up and since we were still living there it was perfect from my perspective.
She would be living on her own with an old high school friend and another girl. Since she had moved back from Texas, where she had been living alone, to Wisconsin, this was a great comfort to me. She would no longer be alone and so far away.
It wasn't that she couldn't handle things by herself, for indeed she had proved she could. It was rather my need to have her companionship, to share her ups and downs, her joys and sorrows. It was nice to be able to talk to her about her day or mine since we had become good friends, and that was a blessing in itself.
I think that this experience had a double meaning for me.
The first being, that I was back attending church regularly, my think tank was full again and my writer's block had disappeared.
The second was that in response to my prayers God kept my daughter safe. He brought her back home where we could surround her with our love if she needed us. And that was the very same message God had for me, that He was there if I needed Him.
He surrounded me with His love and spiritual renewal was mine for the taking. Somehow those good old days are always with us and isn't that a blessing. I try to stay within God's fold so He can share my ups and downs, my joys and sorrows and there isn't anything I can't tell Him that He doesn't already know. And that is one of life's greatest blessings.
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Burgess moved to Bella Vista in 1995. She considers each day a gift -- although some are more fun to open than others.
Religion on 12/30/2015