Every now and then we need to punch the escape button. This past weekend Joanna, a couple of our kids and I were able to punch that button at the last minute and head out of town. One of our kids had to work so she couldn’t join us! It was a good and relaxing time. No plan to follow, no timetable to stick to, in fact: no idea what we were going to do other than a real loose destination to which we were going to drive! The kids kept asking what we were going, our answer never varied: “We don’t know.”
It was a great weekend, I turned the computer on once and was chastised for it. It didn’t have anything to do with work or normal life! I was actually checking into an idea for our summer vacation plans!
Every now and then we need to unplug from our normal routine. Fortunately, my boss was very accommodating of my request! Every now and then my mind would wander to what I’ve come to call the Rhythm of Life. God didn’t mire us up to run at 80 mph all day every day. He built us to run in spurts and also to have times of slow. Daily we need sleep, but that isn’t enough. Sleep restores physical energy. Meals are also important. Not only do they restore physical energy, they are times of recovering relational energy. We need a weekly break from work. We also need annual vacations.
When we begin to shortcut any of these rhythms we may be able to last for awhile but will eventually run headlong into trouble! In severe situations, we physically just stop. Our body shuts down and we can’t go on. Prior to that we may have an emotional shut down. When our emotions shut down we may look fine on the outside but on the inside we feel empty, no emotional reserves to draw from at all.
Jesus would practice a daily break by spending time in prayer. He would eat with his disciples and recharge relationally. Then he would ‘do ministry.’ It is a pattern we need to incorporate into our lives.
