a Sabbath Day

It is funny to think of yourself as a creature of habit. But I know for myself it is a true statement. I am also a person of routines, I go through the same motions everyday no matter what is going on... I wake up around the same time, take the dog for a walk, feed her and make coffee for myself, sit on the couch for a bit and watch Sports Center, drink coffee, take a shower, watch more Sports Center, get dressed, and head out the door. No wonder it takes me so long to get ready in the morning! I also have a weekly routine that has little to no change week to week; classes work study, soccer practice during the week, soccer games on the weekend, and church Sunday... It is a pretty predictable life I lead these days...

What is funny though is that when that routine is broken it totally troughs off my day and my mood (most of the time). But this continuing routine ends up wearing me down. I end up getting moody and ready to blow up. This past week was one of those weeks where I was moving to a place where I was ready to blow up... There must have been something in the air this week because there were a lot of people who were feeling this way. So knowing myself and knowing how I get when I don't break my routine with a day of rest... I took a Sabbath day this week! AND IT WAS WONDERFUL!!!

So this Thursday, I skipped my classes... slept in... did a great deal of reading of blogs... read some from a book... napped... and did not turn my TV on but to watch a movie during lunch. It was a wonderful day. One of the best things about the day was not watching TV... I do watch a lot of TV even if I am not directly watching TV, the TV is still on, just creating noise in the background. Not having the TV on, but for a few minuets, all day on Thursday made the day so peaceful and quite. That was the most noticeable and enjoyable part of my day. It gave me an opportunity to clear my mind and think and process all that had gone on over the past few weeks. It also created space in the day to spend time praying and being in meditation with and on God's word!

After taking this personal Sabbath, I have begun to reflect upon the importance of taking these sabbath days as a pastors. I am also worried about how much time there will be to take these sabbath days to replenish my soul. I know there is more work than hours in the day and there is always something more that cane be done. And I have worked with several pastors who have struggled with taking their days off. And I worry about how can I avoid this, not becoming a workaholic and take care of myself and the relationships in my life, namely with my fiancee (who by the time I am ordained will be my wife)!