Sabbatical is over. Work has begun. A new season is here. And all of this happens in life whether we are ready or not. Time doesn’t wait on us for change to come. Life is often not about what we carry, but how we carry it.
And so it is true for me as well. For those of you who read my blogs on a fairly consistent basis, you know that I’ve been on sabbatical the past twelve weeks. Sabbatical is a gift of time, a journey of renewal, reflection, and rest. Here at E91 Church our pastoral team is greatly blessed that long ago our elders established a Sabbatical policy that every seventh year of full-time pastoral work, a pastor is able to receive up to three months of rest and renewal.
I know this is a gift, a blessing, and a privilege that I, nor any of our pastors, take lightly. I am humbled to have received this gift, and my prayer is that I will pay it forward through love, service, and teaching so that others may receive rest and renewal as well.
If I am to “pay it forward,” then what lessons have I learned that might come in handy for a business leader, stay-at-home mom, student, or retiree? Good question. My answers are still fresh and not fully developed (this is only day two of my post-sabbatical), but here are my initial thoughts.
1. Develop healthy rhythms in your daily, weekly, monthly, periodic, and annual schedule. Burnout, frustration, anger, and a loss of joy don’t develop overnight. They come as a result of a leaky tank that needs to be repaired. We will always be using up energy, but when that use is combined with loss due to brokenness, we will always be depleted and try to run on empty. And that simply does not work.
2. What are these healthy rhythms? Here are five that come right out of Mitch Harrison’s wonderful book, Running on Full (which I read five times over the course of my sabbatical): Rest, Release, Receive, Recreate, and Relate. We need rest. We need to release our baggage and brokenness. We need to receive that which brings healing and renewal. We need recreation, or more plainly, we need fun. And we need to relate to others where we can develop mutual encouragement, support, and friendship.
3. Write it down. Put together a plan on how you are going to incorporate these healthy rhythms into your daily, weekly, monthly, periodic, and annual schedule. What doesn’t get written down is more likely to get lost. We need to plan for physical health, but we also need a plan for spiritual and emotional health as well.
With those three applications in mind, I learned over the course of my sabbatical, that joy and fulfillment don’t ultimately come in what I do but in whom I am with. Yes, my traveling companion, the love of my life, was with me on most of my sabbatical travels, and she (Laura) brought much joy and fulfillment. But the One most important for the (re)discovery of joy and fulfillment is my Redeemer who lives and will never be shaken, Jesus Christ. I pray you will find your ultimate joy and fulfillment in Him as well. Then on that foundation, you can build healthy rhythms in your life that will help you fill your tank and run on full.
