HELLO!

Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly 1 Corinthians 9:25

Inevitably, in September, people will ask me, “Did you have a good vacation?” And because we are western people, who value action and success, some will add, “you certainly earned it”. We cannot escape the language of fairness, even when no one asks, we feel compelled to add words that indicate who deserves things, and who does not. I find this urge amusing. And because we do this, we ourselves feel the need to justify our “downtimes”. I once lived according to this mindset, and only when I opened my eyes to the reality that in the end, when I die, I will either have benefitted from my Sabbath time or not, no amount of justifying it will make my life any easier, any better. I let go of “fairness”, whether it pertains to others or me. I either will engage a Sabbath time with eager expectation of rest for my soul, or I won’t enter it at all.

For me, and we are all different. When Sabbath time comes what I need to experience is, 1) be active (walking is a most restorative experience for me, I feel refreshed to walk fast, breathe, feel me body alive, 2) be silly, I send and receive funny videos, make others laugh, mostly at my own expense and 3) be reflective, I ponder recent examples of how my witness to “the kin-dom of God is here” (words found in Matthew, Mark and Luke) made a difference. There is a quiet satisfaction when I remind myself that I have been part of something “larger than self”, what Viktor Frankl refers to as “our search for meaning”. For me a great vacation is filled with some physical activity, belly laughs and memories of effective discipleship. I need all three. I know I need all three, and when I am intentional in living out these practices, I feel rest for my weary soul.

What I hear from those who take vacations and feel no rest is what I would term, “worldly temptations”, believing what advertising has told us would give us rest, only made us even more weary. In the ads I watch on YouTube I see weary souls drawn to 1) be still, lay on a beach, do nothing, bake in the sun, 2) be praised, giving others the opportunity to tell us how wonderful, beloved and special we are, we love to be affirmed, not for being part of God’s Shalom/peace, but rather for being “me”, and 3) be there, go to that place ads tell us we want to be. When I am near Peggy’s Cove or the HRM waterfront I see tourists, less engaging the landscape and people, and more using their phones for selfies and short videos. I see capturing images we can take with us, to remember what, I am not sure. Resorts are by definition “non-engagement”, the locals and their culture are fenced off, we have access to a beach not dissimilar from a beach we could access near our home. Stopping, being told we are special, and leaving our space for a shiny (expensive) place may not provide the rest, the Sabbath time, we imagine, we hope for.

God has made us different, with different tastes, needs, and perspectives. My own Sabbath needs may not speak to you. I know this. But I also know many people dutifully enroll themselves in the same Sabbath practices every year, only to feel no rest for their souls when their vacation is over. I do not recommend my own practices, but I do recommend people revisit theirs, ask themselves if what they practice is for their own needs or what they have been told they need. Peace, Kevin

PS I made a video today for United Churches for Dartmouth, 8 minutes in length. I am not on Facebook, but I am told one of these two links will work: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/194eZAtApH/ or https://www.facebook.com/share/v/14i5CmFCm6p/?mibextid=wwXIfr