Timing by Sandra Lee Schubert

Time flies doesn’t it? You hear that all the time. Even as a child my summers went by too quickly. I hated August most of all. It meant September was not far behind and school would begin again. It was also the hottest month, the time when mosquitoes would bite my sunburned flesh and my allergies would have me hating mornings. There are times I wish I could push the pause button on life. Just so I can think a little bit. I could rewind some parts and review, see where I made mistakes. Maybe I could see where I also did some good.

Time flies. It rushes past me, faster and faster, making my head spin. It was more then 30 years ago when I first walked into the Cathedral. I remembered it being dark, and a bit cold. At that time it was not for a church service but for a talk by a woman named Hilda. As I remember she was a medium of some sort. Back then I was a spiritual dabbler, rebelling against my Catholic upbringing. I think it would have been better if I could have built upon my religious foundation. But occasionally you need to wander off into the wilderness and see what there is to discover. I would come back to the Cathedral for an occasional event. But finally after years of exploring I settled down here ready to root someplace and hopefully grow. The trouble for me in this spiritual exploration was that it had left me un-tethered and aimless. I was a spiritual airhead of sorts, my head always in the clouds. Settling here was the only thing I could do. Its roots were built of living stone forged deep into the ground. Here I could begin to find my bearings.

People have talked of going home for the holidays. As you may remember my childhood home is now just rubble, and my parents gone many years. Home is where the heart is. At the cathedral I have found a new kind of home. And even if I were to leave, I would no longer be un-tethered in the same way as when I arrived. I have become bound to something powerful. The stone goes deep.

Time does fly. But there are those things that remain eternal. Even as we speed through this life we are not alone. I can say I am still growing and exploring, following some old paths and forging new ones.

This is the last of my Warden’s letters to appear in Crossings. Come February I will step down and a new warden will write in this space. The two year’s have gone quickly. They have been filled with all sorts of interesting things. I can only hope I have done some good for the congregation. In the meantime, I thank all of you who have supported me, and those people who continue to support the work of the congregation and the cathedral. I know how hard we all work. But we have this lovely stone to support us and the spirit of God who sustains us through all we do.

Happy Holidays to all and the may the very best of things come to you in 2007.

Email: wardens@saintsaviour.org