I'm being jolted back into the reality of a hyper-scheduled life after a week where I was fairly unhitched from time. Amy and I just got back from an all expense paid trip to Jamaica last week that I had earned through the store. It was the first vacation that just the two of us had taken (other than worship conferences and an overnight trip or two) since 1998 and we'd been looking forward to it for months. We left two weeks ago and returned one week ago. The week in between was amazing.
Two things stick out to me by way of spiritual application. The first is an issue of gratitude. We ran into some travel issues along with two other couples from the store meaning we arrived a day later than we were supposed to and our luggage arrived a day after we did. Amy and I took things pretty well in stride, thankful to be going anywhere and enjoying each other's company. Our companions... not so much. Every time a new challenge would present itself, their response was immediately angry. Once anger and intimidation failed to produce the desired result they would swing to bitter resignation. A week later, on the return flight home (after the last layover nonetheless) they were still regaling fellow travelers with the tale of how they had been screwed over, how angry they were and how they were going to get restitution from those responsible.
Amy and I felt very little of that at any point in the journey. The difference was that they felt robbed of something that was rightly theirs and we felt that the trip was a blessing to be thankful for even if things didn't go exactly as we would have hoped. Needless to say, we arrived already in vacation mode; relaxed and at peace. They made it to the resort more stressed than when they had left Sioux Falls and had, in effect, wasted a day of their vacation by choice.
The other thing that I'm still chewing on by means of application goes back to issues of time and how I spend it. I never thought I would allow myself to become as hyper-scheduled as I have become. If you look at my weekly schedule, you will see very little downtime. Anybody that really knew me prior to arriving in Sioux Falls knows that I am very protective of my personal time. I am, at heart, an introvert who needs time and space for contemplation in order to feel truly centered. Working in full-time retail and part-time ministry means I have to function as an extrovert most of the time and leaves very little by way of free time to recharge. Thankfully, the jobs that I have are things that I am passionate about and I truly do believe the Lord has blessed me in this way so that I can still provide for my family, engage in ministry and not completely burn out.
With that in mind, I find myself dwelling on how time passed in Jamaica for me. I had a loose sense of comprehending what time it was. We really didn't schedule that much to do in terms of excursions or meals which meant we were free to meander through most of our days there doing what we wanted to do when we felt like doing it. I knew it was roughly 10 a.m. when the bar at the water park opened. I knew it was around noon when people started sitting down for meals. I knew it was sometime around 8 p.m. when the sun went down. Time just passed and I didn't really concern myself with it.
On arriving home, I found myself trying to hold onto that relaxed sense of time for the first few days until I began to realize that the demands of the schedule wouldn't allow it. Today is my first "day off" since getting back and I had a 7:30 coffee appointment, had to be at the house at 9:30 to let the piano tuner in (who is currently doing a fine job bringing consonance back into our home), will be at a worship planning meeting at 11:45, pick Xander up from school at 1:05, teach at USF from 3:30-4:30 and will be co-leading a small group at church tonight. Today will not permit the type of relaxation that I found lounging by poolside or reading at the beach.
The bigger thing that I'm contemplating this morning is the meaning of sabbath. When I refer to sabbath, I'm not referring to "The Sabbath" as it is presented in the Old Testament. I refer to the practice of resting and meditating on God as an act of worship and discipleship. There are times that I do this well and times that I fail miserably because I allow my schedule to dictate when I can experience sabbath rest instead of conforming my schedule to allow it to happen.
I'm hoping I can begin to address that in ways that allow me to unhitch from time-induced daily pressures and experience the presence of God in ways I've forgotten and ways I have yet to discover.
