When I arrived at my current ministry, it was explained to me that once a pastor has been at the church for seven years, they were able to submit for a sabbatical. It seemed like a really cool idea. I had heard about them, but had never thought that it would be something that I would be able to do. You see, I am a middle school pastor and sabbaticals aren’t normally handed out to middle school pastors. Well, this past January marked my seventh year at my church and I submitted for a sabbatical….and it was accepted. I have not written a post in quite a bit and I figured that since I have nothing but time on my side, I will catch up a bit.
IT IS HARD TO REST
Why is it so hard to rest for an extended period of time? “I need a vacation.” “I wish I had more time in a day to get things done.” “Where did that year go?” We have all heard those words. Maybe you have said them yourself. I have. But what do we do with our rest? Our vacations are filled with go, go, go. We come back more tired than when we started. We want more time to get more work done. We wish that the months would slow down so we could enjoy the warmer months more. I am not exempt from being guilty of this.
GOD INTENDED US TO REST
I am not going to get into a theological debate about this. I understand the different perspectives, but I don’t think that one should too quickly overlook the fact that God rested on the seventh day after he had created the universe. Was it because he was tired? I don’t think so. If God wasn’t tired, why did he choose to rest? Could it be that it was for us? Could it be that he was setting a pattern for us to make rest a part of our regular routine? Is rest necessary only when we are exhausted? At what point does rest become laziness? I know I am asking a lot of questions, but have you thought about it? On a busy week in our house, some times the only rest I get during the day is when I escape to the restroom until my wife or one of my kids asks if I am almost done (sometimes I can milk it ten minutes or so).
I would venture to say that rest is as important as or work. I know that rest does not pay the bills, but it for sure can encourage one to refocus in order to do their work more effectively. When was the last time you took a day to just…rest?
TELL YOUR TIME WHAT TO DO
We all have the same amount of time in a day. We all have the ability to spend it wisely or foolishly. Rest is something that does not just happen. It needs to be set and guarded. It is like a budget. The purpose of a budget is not just to track your spending, but to tell your money where to go. It allows you to save and plan. Time is the exact same way. Resting is not a frivolity, but a necessity. I suggest that at the beginning of every week you budget some rest time. It could be squeezed into a lunch hour. You could wake up early one day a week before the rest of the house does. If you are able to, I would strongly encourage you to plan one day a month where you can get away and do something that you enjoy that fills your soul. Hiking, fishing, reading… Don’t let time take you captive. Capture it!
HOW AM I DOING?
I confess, my first two weeks of my sabbatical have not been very restful, I have seemed to replace my office hours with house projects. I AM GETTING STUFF DONE! I am tired. My wife and I just today, discussed on how we should spend our time on a daily basis so we are able to take advantage of this pile of time that has been allotted to us. Rest does not have to be costly, but I will guarantee you that if you don’t take time to fit it in, it will be costly to you and those around you.
Write Down the Middle 