Thursday, February 23, 2012

Sabbath



During the season of Lent, my church is going through a series on spiritual disciplines. I thought that would be a great idea until one of the messages hit me between the eyes...and it was only the first sermon in the series. This Sunday Pastor J talked about Sabbath. And I tried my best not to hyperventilate because I knew I needed a break, but just didn't know when I was going to fit one in. 

The reason that I haven't been writing lately is because I've bitten off more than I can chew. In my gusto to graduate in May, I signed up for all the classes I need to graduate plus a couple more that set me up for being appointed by my denomination if I ever want to go that direction. Sixteen hours of grad school classes (3 of which is a church planting internship) is just a lot. I don't like admitting it to myself or others, but I'm constantly exhausted, stressed, and ready to just give up most of the time. And it's because I don't take the time to take a break in order to be refreshed by God (and I just generally have poor time management skills sometimes).

I've told myself the lie that I'm too busy to stop, and I have the feeling that I'm not alone in this. We've been brought up in a culture that tells us that "the busier, the better." But God tells us to take time just to know that He is and that He is the one who provides us with the grace to get through the week. I guess it comes down to being counter-cultural and trusting God that He will provide everything we need to accomplish our tasks during the other six days of the week.