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June 2016

Pastor Points: No More Snow Days!

Do you need to slow down after a busy spring season? I know I do. One of the primary recommendations of athletic training is to include rest along with rigor. Without rest, the body thinks it is always “on.” Our muscles have no time to recover from the levels they’ve been pushed to, and the adrenaline keeps flowing. Fatigue sets in – not just in the body, but in the mind and spirit as well.

June is transition month: from spring to summer; from school to vacations. My message to you, for summer, is to take the rest you need. We can be pretty sure we won’t get any “snow days” (spontaneous Sabbath days!) in June, July or August. We must create our own.

Need some ideas for how to ‘turn off the switch’? In addition to all the fun activities of summer, make sure you find time for the front porch, the new hammock in the back yard, and the book you’ve been wanting to read but have not given yourself the luxury of starting. Instead of driving, how about walking to your destination? Put an “away message” on your email account on your day off, and turn off your computer. Get out that sketch pad and pen or the musical instrument you used to play, or the binoculars and field guide from the bookshelf to watch the birds in your backyard. Use one of those gift cards you received last Christmas, to enjoy a smoothie or a double-dip ice cream cone, or take a night off from cooking. Have a conversation with the neighbor across the street you wave to, but don’t know at all. There are a million things you could do to signal to your body/mind/spirit and your family and friends that summer is time for slowing down, and for becoming ‘human’ again.

Jesus was always, intentionally, going off to lonely places to sit, to pray, to be away from the demanding crowds, and to reconnect Himself with His Creator. My guess is that, in your busy life, there is a ‘demanding crowd’ (maybe, more than one!) from which you need relief. The Hebrew word is “Sabbath.” It’s a term that used to mean something to Christians. Remember the days when stores weren’t open on Sundays, and people didn’t schedule baby showers or family brunches on Sunday mornings? Maybe it’s time for us, as individual believers, to discover Sabbath blessing and peace again.

Blessings,

Pastor Joyce

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