Settling into a new routine

Which remains for only a short time. It has been a joy to return to the island, there are so many new faces and a few familiar ones. Most of the practices, rituals if will are the same, but some have changed. There is a large presence of college aged volunteers from the U.S. at present, because European universities have not released yet. There is such an exciting spirit overall in the place even with all the coming and goings. Even in those who have been here for six weeks, they carry a spirit of renewal. The work is hard, perhaps even tedious and maybe that is what feeds the spirit. In our routine and mundane world we often push aside, forego or even delegate to others the difficult and dirty tasks. Maybe there is blessing in actually putting our hands to the plow (and in my case that is my hand in a bucket of warm soapy water. There seems to be a real sense that we are all in this together, taking care of the routine, so that others may come and join us for a time. It clearly creates in my mind the link between what we do for God and what we do in the world, and the tiny gap that must be bridged. How and where do we build that bridge? This is a thin place.