We have a busy day ahead –
Mass, lunch
and then an event
in the city centre.
It feels like a lot
to pack-in.
But, in my head,
I find myself saying,
“Make time for God
and God will make time
for you.”

And so we go to Mass
which is unhurried
with a sense of mystery.
It’s longer than anticipated
and is followed by Benediction
(which, again, we hadn’t expected).
But I find myself saying,
“Make time for God
and God will make time
for you”
and so I sit back in my seat
to savour the mystery
of Mass
and the reverence
of Benediction.

After Mass
we drive home for lunch
along roads that are
surprisingly deserted.
After lunch
we brace ourselves
for bumper-to-bumper traffic
on our drive
to the city centre event,
only to find
that the roads are quiet
and we arrive in perfect time!

Who would have thought?
(I sense the hand of God
in this!)

Make time for God
and God will make time
for you –
how true those words have been
for us today!
(Thank you, Lord!)

© Claire Murray, 4th December 2021

We spend the afternoon
filling several builders’ bags
with leaves.

Rust-coloured beech leaves,
all shiny and smooth.
Brown, furled oak leaves,
all dried-out and dull.
Floppy, brown sycamore leaves
with beautiful red stems.
Golden cherry tree leaves,
shaped like feathers.
Bruised apples left strewn
on the grass
for peckish blackbirds.
And all the while
the wind playing chasies
with the leaves!

An afternoon of hard work –
raking leaves, bagging leaves
(and drinking tea, of course!)
As my Daddy says,
“Hard work’s not easy
and easy work’s hard to find!”

But, as darkness falls,
a real sense of accomplishment.

Paul and me
working side by side
and a sense of pride
in a lawn cleared (for now!)
of leaves.

An acceptance that,
in a few days’ time,
we’ll need to do it
all over again.
But that’s okay –
we’ll do it again
together.
Sure isn’t that what marriage
is all about?

Thank you, Lord, for the gift
of these beautiful autumn leaves
and also for the gift
of a happy marriage.

© Claire Murray, 26th November 2021