Last week we considered how to discover Holy Ground in the
busy-ness of our work-a-day lives. This time, we’re contemplating finding Holy
Ground in Rest and Relaxation. This is a category I have difficulty with. I am
much more comfortable getting things done, than in sitting and doing nothing.
Jesus commends the practice though. “Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not
even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a
quiet place and get some rest.’" (Mark 6:31)
Jesus himself went away for quiet, when the crowds became too
crushing. “But the news about Jesus
spread all the more, and great crowds came to hear Him and to be healed of
their sicknesses. Yet He frequently withdrew to the
wilderness to pray.” (Luke 5:15-16)
It is often very easy to think we are too busy to take time off.
The world won’t stop spinning if we take a day or 2 of rest. In My Fair Lady,
Eliza sings “There'll be spring every
year without you/England still will be here without you/There'll be fruit on
the tree/And a shore by the sea/There'll be crumpets and tea without you.”
She is, of course talking to Professor Harry Higgins. However, it is a reminder
that we could all use sometimes. God tells us, “Without your pulling it the tide comes in/Without your twirling it, the
Earth can spin/Without your pushing them, the clouds roll by”.
My spiritual director has advised me to take a retreat, in order
to refill the cup of my soul, so I can continue in the various work and
ministry I do. She is reminding me that I’m not irreplaceable in any of my
roles. The assorted tasks will get done (or not) just as well with me
there or away. After all, “without much ado we can/All muddle through without
you.”
The One we cannot do without is the One who too often gets
ignored or pushed to the bottom of the to-do list. Next weekend, I’ll be at a retreat
focusing on Sabbath. It won’t be totally without work for me, as I’m the
coordinator. Still, I hope to find some quiet for myself somewhere in
the midst of it all.
Is it time to find a Sabbath time for yourself?
Is it time to step away from some of what you do in order to get a drink from
the well of life? Is it time to put God at the top of your to-do list? 