sabbath summer
- Jul 8, 2017
- 3 min read
Like lots of Americans, I really enjoy being busy. I like to fill my life with good work and good fun and good people. That provides a really easy trap for me to fall into: to idolize work. And at the root of that, to idolize production. And at the root of that, to idolize myself.
When I started applying to internships in March of this year to prepare for my summer, I had this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that this summer was not going to be about moving forward with my career. Which, for me, can feel like not moving forward with life at all (definitely a healthy mindset).
And I was right, an internship was not in my future. But the Lord had been doing good work in my heart all year to prepare me for the down time I'd be having this summer.
Earlier in the year I had a conversation with one of my professors, a man who's lived as a missionary and a pastor and now a biblical studies professor. He told me about a period of his life where the Lord had no new work for him, no goal to be striving toward, no milestones to be reached. I told him that sounded so boring. He told me it was one of the most rejuvenating seasons of his life. He poured into relationships, he drew closer to the Lord. Although he wasn't "doing" anything, he was being prepared well for where the Lord would move him next.
As I went into this summer, with no real plans at all, I felt so at peace. The Lord has decided to give me these few weeks to enjoy His good creation in moderation and rest. Sitting around in the sunshine, reading books, meeting friends -- and yes, occasionally working -- has been so good for my soul and my mind. What an incredible blessing to just be for a little bit. I've forgotten what it's like to slow down and enjoy being an embodied person, and I'm so thankful that the Lord saw fit to remind me of that. It's a feeling I'll actively work towards maintaining as I head back into a busy season.
Henri Nouwen reflects well on the life of Jesus and He conducted His ministry. Nouwen notes the three modes that hold equal importance to effective ministry: solitude, community, then ministry. In that order. Our production-based culture makes it so easy to jump right to the ministry portion, what feels like the active "doing" of the Christian life. But Jesus began his entire ministry with solitude, a time to spend with the Father, to be in communion with Him who is our strength. Then he moved to building relationships with His disciples, and finally, into His hands-on ministry.
My next few months at Wheaton are going to be in a ministry leadership position, and I'm grateful and blessed beyond measure that the Lord forced me into rest and solitude and communion with Him before I took on that ministry role.
We've got a few weeks to go of rest, and a whole trip to the Holy Lands, but as a reflection on the last month or so, all I have to say is that the Lord is good, and his mercies are new every morning.
Comments