Fr Robert Hendrickson

Dear Friends in Christ,

As many of you know, I spent much of the last two weeks dealing with Covid and its aftershocks. It wasn’t a particularly terrible course, as such things could have gone, and the exhaustion and fatigue after have been more frustrating than the symptoms of it themselves.

We are fortunate in that we’ve got a bit of a yard and space which made isolation possible and kept the rest of the family healthy. I spent more time, these last two weeks, simply “being” outside than I have since we moved here.

Generally, I thinking of the next project to do and trying to get things either in order from the last job or ready for the next one. So actually enjoying, or pausing to enjoy, the yard as it is has been relatively rare.

Karrie and I sat out across our patio and chatted into the night. We watched birds come and go, ground squirrels pop up their heads to see if we were done yet, and lizards scurry about and scowl at our rudeness in sitting about their playground.

We watched the sun set and stars come out and listened to the boys play in the yard. We heard the coyotes start up their songs and the woodpeckers shush too.

C.S. Lewis has a quote about health that I’ve always loved. He writes, “Health is a great blessing, but the moment you make health one of your main, direct objects you start becoming a crank and imagining there is something wrong with you. You are only likely to get health provided you want other things more—food, games, work, fun, open air.”

So I thank God this week for giving me more things to appreciate than health itself — for open air and critters all around and the sounds of family and games. While we all appreciate good health perhaps the lesson of these weeks, for me, has been to appreciate more what good health lets us enjoy — all the gifts and blessings of God’s good earth.

Yours in Christ,

Fr Robert