A couple of weeks ago Baylor brought David Brooks to campus to give a lecture, and I missed it. I missed it because my mother, back in my native Alabama, had taken a bad fall and was in the hospital, and I was talking with her doctors, and with my sister, about how best to care for her. (Thanks be to God, she's all right now and back home.)
At the outset of his talk David said that he likes to come to Waco to see the local celebrities, but not celebrities who renovate houses — no, he said, he meant Alan Jacobs, who renovates souls.
Well, goodness. For one thing, that was the first time anybody has referred to me as a celebrity, even as a joke. ("A legend in my own mind," more like.) I doubt more than fifteen or twenty people in the audience had any idea who he was talking about. But I will say this: If anything I have ever done as a teacher or writer has helped to renovate even one soul, I consider myself blessed.
I wrote a long series of posts a couple of years back on inviting people to the work of repair, and the repair, renewal, renovation of good things that are lost and or neglected is my life's work. Gandalf tells Denethor that "all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, these are my care," and I would say the same, except not all such things — only the few that are within my reach.
"Renovator of souls" would be the greatest job description ever — the greatest thing one could put on one's business card — but, alas, I have not earned it. Something to aspire to, though. Nothing better to aspire to.
I am having an excellent time with my classes this fall — two fine groups of students — but for the first time in the past forty-two years I have lamented the arrival of the Fall term. I was really flowing with my Dorothy L. Sayers biography, had finished four chapters and was just about to get to her first novel, when I had to drop it like a rock to focus all my attention on the new school year. I even had to set aside micro.blog for a while, though in the past week I have returned with some fun links and enjoyable images. For the rest of this term, though, blogging will probably be slower than usual. There's a lot on my plate!
My double awareness of things-I-want-to-write and limited-time-remaining-to-write has been strong with me lately. I am just beginning to be ready to retire from teaching, though I don't think that would be wise at this point. Two or three more years, maybe. But I will (hesitantly, diffidently) say this: More support here at BMAC might make it possible for me to make that move earlier rather than later. And then maybe some useful things would get written that otherwise will never see the light of day.
My great thanks to all of you who support me here, and if I may be allowed one more request, this one to those who pray: I would appreciate prayer for discernment. I want to retire — that is, move to full-time writing — at the best moment, neither too early nor too late.
Blessings to all — and a friendly hello from an uncharacteristically meditative Angus.
