Reflections From Sunday Evening

After a couple of weeks off it was good to get back to church this weekend.  We had a great and engaged group of people in worship.  This is my favorite place to share in fellowship and worship the Lord!
We were able to visit Woods Chapel UMC while off and that was a good experience.  It seemed like I knew as many people there as here at home.  Last week we spent time in Branson.  It ended up a family gathering as we all joined up for a couple of days.  I would say it was totally relaxing and got me all rested up but Cindy is a great planner and kept me moving most of the time!  It was totally fun.
I will admit that "vacation" is a little hard for me.  I take a few days to wind down so I am not thinking about what I "need" to be doing all the time.  I find it difficult to stop the tapes that run through my mind and just take it easy.
I wonder why this is.  Then I think about growing up.  We lived on a farm.  Dad farmed and milked cows.  In those days farmers never got a day off.  (much less a vacation)  The cows came to be milked each morning and evening.  If you were tired you worked anyway.  If you were sick you worked anyway.  If you wanted to go somewhere to do something you milked anyway.  It was constant.  It was a way of life.  (No wonder dad decided to get into insurance and real estate!)
I guess there was a work ethic that was ingrained in me from an early age.  Certainly nothing wrong with that.
But as I continue this life of faith I keep running into Jesus.  He worked and spent himself in service to others.  But he also took the disciples and withdrew from time to time.  That is a good example.
Through the years I have picked up some good advice.  One is "when you get tired rest."  That seems pretty obvious but how many times have I violated that obvious principle?
Rick Warren instructs anyone who seeks to avoid burnout to "divert daily (whatever relaxes you), withdraw weekly (Sabbath), and abandon annually (disconnect).
That makes good sense.  I'm still on the learning curve with these things but as I think about it I had a really good time these past two weeks.  I may try this again one of these days.
It's been a great day.  I hope you've had a great day too.
steve