I've fallen into a bit of a routine, but am not nearly as busy as I'd like to be, and it seems to sort of run in the family that we feel at a loss if we don't have an over-flowing plate of commitments and responsibilities. I unfortunately don't really think I've been spending my free time in the best ways possible, but that's another thing I need to work on. Hmmm... just making lists of way in which I need to be refined could probably use up a lot of that free time, but that's not really constructive. I need action plans. Aaaaaanyway, I'm currently reading a book by A.J. Jacobs entitled The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible. It's been amusing and interesting so far, but sadly I'll have to return it before I'm finished (or else suffer the price of more overdue charges than I care to pay). Just thought I would share a little excerpt (as a set-up, I'll clue you into the fact that he's stuck in his bathroom): "By noon I'm sitting on the floor, my back against the shower door. I sit. And sit some more. And something odd happens. I know that, outside the bathroom, the world is speeding along. That blogs are being read. Wild salmon is being grilled. Reggaeton is being explained to middle-aged white marketing executives.
But I'm okay with it. It doesn't cause my shoulders to tighten. Nothing I can do about it. I've reached an unexpected level of acceptance. For once, I'm savouring the present. I'm admiring what I have, even if it's thirty-two square feet of fake marble and an angled electrical outlet. I start to pray. And, perhaps for the first time, I pray in true peace and silence - without glancing at the clock, without my brain hopscotching from topic to topic.
This is what the Sabbath should feel like. A pause. Not just a minor pause, but a major pause. Not just a lowering of the volume, but a muting. As the famous rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel put it, the Sabbath is a sanctuary in time."
I really love the idea of the Sabbath as a sanctuary in time. However, I find even the minor pauses easier to grasp ahold of and savour while away - doesn't matter where I'm away to, just where I'm away from. While in Mexico, either on vacation or mission trip, while travelling through Africa, while taking a walk in the woods, a swim in the lake, or a bike ride along the Galloping Goose. During these often transitory times I find that I can breath a little deeper, ponder more deeply, reflect more richly. When I don't seize these intermittent occasions often enough, I find my soul starts to cry out, much like a desperate peasant at the door of the Notre Dame cathedral, "Sanctuary!".
Okay, so I'm done waxing philosophical. Like I said, there's not really any big news to share on this end, except that I purchased my plane tickets for the usual Christmas trip home, and at a fairly decent price. I get three weeks at home this year, which is sweet!
I'm heading to the mainland for the Thanksgiving weekend, visiting some good friends, and spending some time in the country (sort of; I'll be at A Rocha, Surrey location). God is good.
P.S. A few weeks ago I hiked half of the Juan de Fuca trail, which was gorgeous and only slightly challenging. That's where this picture is from:
No comments:
Post a Comment