.jpg)
“Week 52” is over – the one precious week of vacation I am
given each year at Nags Head. In the
company of two other sisters, I overslept, read books, prayed when I felt like
it and ate WAY too much. I am always
grateful for these days of holy leisure – for the return to some natural clock
inside me. I am rested and renewed and
very grateful to my beach companions for the gift of their presence. One of the thoughts that came in the car on
the way home – other than, “I wish I had TWO weeks at the beach!” – has stayed
with me in the transition to “real life”.
We have this tradition at the beach.
When the last day of your vacation comes, you clean the house from top
to bottom – scrub the bathrooms, vacuum, wash sheets and remake the beds for
the sisters coming in that day. Then,
you prepare a meal for them so that when they arrive around noon; both groups
can eat to together. When the new group
arrives we help with their bags, boxes and coolers. After lunch we clean up the mess and leave
them to their “week 52” in a fresh, clean house. It’s hard work, that last day. By the time we got our things into the car
and waved goodbye, I was ready to collapse.
It was then that the thought came.
That Sunday ritual on the last day of vacation is our annual “foot
washing”. It is our opportunity to serve
our sisters in the humblest of ways.
Scrubbing toilets and changing sheets – these simple tasks are the most
loving. Mothers understand this. To prepare a fresh bed for a loved one is
sacramental. So is cooking, serving and
cleaning up. We wash PLENTY of dishes at
the monastery, but in this setting it is so much more intimate. Our time of leisure is ending and instead of
feeling sorry for ourselves, we choose loving action for those whose joy is yet
to come. We bend and wash and
serve. It is very much like the service
Jesus asks of us in the Holy Thursday liturgy.
The Lord of sun and moon bends to wash the tired, dusty feel of fishermen. I watched our prioress make beds, empty the
dishwasher and scrub a bathroom. This is
real love – the love that regards the good of the other as sacred duty. Our “foot washing” at the beach remains one
of the sweetest examples of the goodness of this life. It will be 51 weeks until we go to the Outer
Banks [but who’s counting!] The example
of what was done for us and what we did for others has become an icon of humble
love. It’s taken me 10 trips to the
beach to see it, but now the basin and towel will never be the same.
Blessings and love to you all…
-
Sister Vicki
