In a bit of a Theresa of Avila moment, I will say for the umpteenth time how much of a slog it has been to write my conference paper.  I think it is nearly there now - need to shed about 300 words from the 'to read' version and move some stuff into an appendix for the 'to publish' version but overall, it's not looking too bad now.  It has definitely given me a sense of resolution that acadmeic research is not going to feature on my horizon any time soon.

BUT...

Over the last couple of weeks I have begun to feel the benefit of the hard work as every now and then ideas pop into my mind as I walk to or from church.  This has echoes of the walks into Manchester city centre of my student days, when I used to map out essays on paper serviettes whilst supping my skinny fairtrade latte in the foodcourt of the Arndale Centre.

This in turn gives me new energy with which to reasearch and reflect ahead of writing my sermons, and which hopefully means what I deliver is more interesting and inspired.

With that wonderful thing called hindsight, perhaps I soldiered on for too long before taking my sabbatical and then was so eager to get the most from it that I undertook way too much - certainly, whilst I really enjoyed it, I did not find it as refreshing or invigorating as I had hoped.  Or perhaps it is just that now is the 'favourable time', that the rash decision to offer a conference paper and the huge demands it has made on me have worked together for good, giving me renewed confidence for the challenges that lie, as yet unseen, just around the corner? Time will tell.  Whatever the future brings, for me at least it has been well worth the effort.