sustain:if:able kiwi

a day of regrets: C’est la vie

My sabbatical ended today.

I packed up my research, books and keyboard. I put away my highlighters, filed my reading notes and returned my office chair to Uniting College. I cleaned the whiteboard, wiping off my big picture progress, the word count on the five chapters I’ve been working on.

I’ve done lots.
– around 45,000 words of the book project – sustainability and the emerging church
– two research funding bids, one of 5,500 words, another of 1,500 words
– a short article on “Deacons, pioneering and the mission of God”
– a quick trip to Sydney to look at a way of training leaders
– coffee with a range of stimulating folk

But I end with regret.

Regret because I’ve loved the space, the more relaxed pace, the chance to say no to a whole range of speaking things, to have weekends off.

Regret because returning to work and a number of corridor conversations and emails was a reminder of some of the complexities and difficulties that lie in wait.

Regret because I reckon I’m about 3 weeks away from finishing the book project. And while the sabbatical was meant to be 3 months, there’s been over 3 weeks of work that has dragged me back. Work I was prepared to do, work that, now done, will make the next 6 months so much easier.

But if I’d said no, would the book be finished?

C’est la vie. Such is life. A day to wipe the whiteboard clean and prepare for the next stage in the journey of life.