I’ve spent most of today planning parts of a retreat for YFC staff in a couple of weeks in Nympsfield which has become one of my favourite ‘thin places’ in the country. The calmness of this place which is rooted in the contemplative life of the nuns that we stay with is quite unique and I’m really looking forward to returning for what I guess may well be my last visit.

I have not very far planning my bits of the retreat so I guess I need some time out to contemplate a little more what I am trying to plan. Throughout the retreat we are looking at the tree as a symbol of our lives with roots, branches etc. My main session is concentrating on the trunk and what that could be imagery for.

The trunk clearly transports the good stuff from the roots to the leaves and I’ve been doing a bit of thinking on how this might apply to me. The trunk seems to have a key role in sustaining life and I found myself wondering what sustains me spiritually. It’s easy to say prayer and daily office, maybe even Eucharist, but do they sustain me, and how can I be sure they sustain me and, more importantly is there any evidence of how they sustain me.

It strikes me as well that the trunk hides some secrets both good and made – the rings of life as the tree grows annually, but also scars of past hurts or disease are hidden behind the trunk. The trunk itself can bare scars or etchings from other people.

It looks like there is a lot going on in the trunk, much of it unseen and un-noticed. If, however, the trunk stopped doing its role and failed to transport food, nutrients and water from the roots to the leaves we would soon see something was wrong. I guess this can be like the Christian life … or maybe the hard truth is we are more able than trees to fake how we know we should be looking or sounding!?

It will be interesting to see where I go with this session, and where people go with it on retreat … just need to find an appropriate Bible passage now! Any ideas gratefully received!