This morning I did my first official pastoral act in four months. I spoke before the students in the Lower School of Walsingham Academy during a prayer service to begin Catholic Schools Week. I talked about prayer, appropriately enough, sharing my experiences of being carried by the prayers and love of so many during my illness. (Patty teaches music at Walsingham, and the students and teachers prayed for me out loud for months! They were so glad to see the face of the person they had been praying for.)

I was able to speak about my experiences this morning without tears. Another small step of recovery. I've written on this blog that another step of recovery will be when I realize at the end of a day that I haven't worried about my health all day! One of our folks has written remarkable letters to me through these months, and she most recently wrote, "Have you noticed that people treat you differently? You indicated that you'll know you are healthy again when you stop thinking about being sick. I think you'll also notice the days when others stop treating you as a sick person."

Those days are in the future! Yesterday I was ready to help move the wall partitions in the Fellowship Hall, to get the room ready for the congregational meeting, but I was physically prevented from doing that by several people who were treating me like a sick person. I do appreciate everyone's counsel, to take it slow as I come back to activity this Thursday. I promise I'll be careful!

Of course, all of this is uncharted water for me. I've never returned to work after a serious illness. I have profited a great deal from conversations with three colleagues who have done that. They've given me good advice on how to take care of myself, and they've reinforced my assumption: that confidence comes with getting back into doing the work. A couple of youth asked me yesterday how I was doing, and I told them: I'm ready to be back!