IN MY LAST POST, I
shared with you how I always look for God when I travel. And I’m doing it again
this week as my husband and I return to the mountains of Southern California, a
place we’ve been retreating to off-and-on for thirty-one years and plan to
return to yearly now. I felt a little slow on the uptake this last week,
though, since I was flattened with bronchial pneumonia, partly due to the
horrendous winds we’ve had in Arizona the last couple of months (I’m allergic
to dust, and there’s an overabundance of dust in the desert), and partly due to
my overextended, exhausted lifestyle.
I think that latter reason is caused
by several factors:
1. It’s a curse
I’ve inherited from my Pilgrim forefathers. (Although they did know how to
observe the Sabbath, something—to my detriment—I’ve been laying aside the last
couple of months.)
2. It’s an
ingrained habit I’ve acquired from adopting that uniquely American, Puritan
work ethic. (Something we Yankees tend to brag about, without examining some of
the negative effects that can accompany it.)
3. I’m married
to a visionary man who’s determined to pack a dozen lifetimes into one. (I
shouldn’t lay all of the blame at his feet, though, since I have a propensity
to do that too.)
4. For some
unexplored reason (undoubtedly psychological) I feel guilty if I’m not functioning
as a human doing rather than a human being. Somewhere deep down, and even though
I know better, I feel as though my self worth depends upon it.
If I’m honest with myself, that last
one is probably the main issue: I feel as
though my self worth depends upon it. And I’m (once again) paying the price
for that erroneous belief.
In the last several weeks, God
whispered to me that I needed to s-l-o-w down, but—being the stoic, ex-competitor
athlete that I am, I tried to muscle through. He spoke louder, and I backed
off, a little. Then He hollered, I was flattened, and I waved the white flag of
surrender. And now I’m on a re-scheduled relaxation vacation (funny how God
plans these things ahead of time knowing when you’ll really need them), looking
for God in the pine-tree laden terrain, decomposed granite peaks, and winter
snow-drenched lake.
I was still feeling a tad guilty
about it, (probably because we had to leave our two four-footed children at a
pet hotel), until I happened to read a passage from Mindy Belz’s great new book
They Say We Are Infidels. (God even
sent me vacationing with just-right reading material!)
“Christianity has had an ascetic
element from the start. Jesus withdrew to
rest and to pray in private. He
warned his disciples not to be weighed
down by the cares of this life. The
apostle Paul retreated into the deserts
of Arabia after his conversation and
later added his own counsel in favor
of a solitary life. From their
earliest days, some among the followers of
Christ became solitaries, or monachos in the Greek” (pages 18-119).
While I’m not about to begin
practicing a life of extreme asceticism, abstaining from all indulgences, I do
know I need to incorporate an element
of it into my life. I need to take my own advice, and I need to take it more
often. If withdrawing from the crowds and His closest circle of friends and
from daily labors was good enough for my Lord, then it’s good enough for me.
More than good enough, actually. If it was necessary for Jesus, then how much
more necessary for me, a mere mortal? If He warns me not to let the cares of
this world weigh down my heart and mind, then I need to take His advice. My
physical, psychological, and spiritual health depend upon it.
I need to set any guilt aside,
reject any pre-conceived notions of a work ethic that borders on extreme and
neurotic; and I need to remind myself—often—that my self worth is not measured
by what I do or by my performance. My self worth is inherent because I am made
in the image of God, and is further established by my relationship with His Son
Jesus Christ.
And knowing these truths helps me
live more purposefully, and in a state of peace. And when I take time away,
extended times of Sabbath and mini-sabbaticals, I can hear Him more clearly. I
can love more fully. I can focus more intently. I can set aside those things
that encumber me. And as I look forward to the week of rest and recuperation, I
do so with an expectant heart. Because I know, as He is so faithful to do, God
will be speaking to me, as often as I am ready to hear and listen.
Even this vacationing can become an
idol, though, so this is not about doing or not doing. This is about doing all
that I do unto the Lord. It’s about eating unto the Lord. It’s about working
unto the Lord, and playing unto the Lord. And this week, for me, it’s about resting
unto the Lord.
It’s about having joy and peace in
all things because the joy of the Lord is strength to all who possess and enjoy
it. It’s so much easier to do when you’re on vacation, but I know when I return
home, I need to follow Jesus’ advice and find more frequent ways to remove
myself from life’s stressors and its cares, so I’m already thinking ahead. I’m
jotting down what I can do:
1. Daily—maybe setting my work aside
sooner, getting myself ready for bed sooner, unwinding, and then spending some
extra time in mediation and prayer at the end of the day before going to bed.
2. Weekly—making sure I really honor the
Sabbath, from sundown Saturday to sundown Sunday. Rest, worship, and pray.
3. Monthly—Take a full day to take a
drive, get away from my surroundings, go up the mountain behind my home. Or
maybe head to one of our local botanical gardens to walk, sit, pray, and write.
Niggle my brain and be refreshed.
4. Quarterly—Maybe pack a duffle bag and
head to a nearby town for a change of scenery. Or load the dogs in the car,
attach the trailer to it and head to some nearby campground to live in the
wilderness for a couple of days. That’ll quickly recharge the senses.
5. Yearly—Taking at least a week-long
vacation, although my husband and I are prone to stretching it out much longer
than that. We find we have to, probably because we’ve avoided all of the
ascetic elements—of withdrawing to rest—that we should have been practicing
throughout the year. It takes us at least a week to recover so we can actually
rest and rejuvenate on the vacation.
6. Sabbatical—It would be a dream to
actually take a seventh-year sabbatical like some college professors get to do,
but I’m dreaming!
For now, I’m reveling in the week
I’m being treated to right now!
This is the vision I awoke to
Saturday morning, the first full day of our vacation. I expect to enjoy a lot
more of these kinds of views this week. My heart is already overflowing with
the possibilities, because now there’s room there for them to be nurtured.
I’m even making
sure that I am enjoying the delicacies of the mountain town and eating unto the
Lord!
The playing will
probably come later in the week as my lungs recover more fully. J
What ascetic elements do you practice, or
can you start practicing in life right now? What’s working for you?
__________________________________
Pursuing rest and
peace at 6,752 feet and above!
Blessings,
Andrea
May you prosper in all
things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).
Photos by Andrea Arthur Owan
No comments:
Post a Comment