Last Saturday afternoon, after working a bit downtown, I walked through the campus and snapped this picture. If you are from Morgantown there should be something that strikes you as odd in this photo.
Maybe it is the intense blue skies that strike you as odd, or maybe it is the lack of traffic. It was a beautiful cool late summer afternoon. What strikes me as odd is the lack of people.
It is a very rare occasion indeed that one sees this section of University Avenue completely devoid of people--especially during the semester. But WVU played football on a Thursday night, so people weren't traveling to see a game. No classes were in session, and it was a really quiet afternoon.
Anyone familiar with Morgantown knows that this section of campus is typically so full of pedestrians that cars get backed up as they crawl through campus. Yet there are no pedestrians (other than me), and there are no cars. It's a quiet Saturday afternoon.
It's almost as if the city was enjoying a sabbath. People were resting. Many students probably traveled home for the weekend. But it really struck me that there was no activity.
And what about us? Do we take time to "cease striving" in our weeks to know God? I've been feeling worn down a lot lately personally. When I see an image like this, it reminds me that we are to enjoy Christ in a Sabbath rest of sorts. My friend Jerry Haynes stopped by last night,and talked to one of our "canvas groups" here in morgantown about sabbath and the feast of tabernacles. Both festivals are reminders that we are not slaves to production but that we are beloved who are cared for by the living God. They remind us to take time to saturate ourselves in His life giving word, and in His goodness.
So, if a college campus can take time to be renewed on a saturday afternoon, can we? Are we willing to carve time out of our endless agendas to be refreshed, renewed, and restored?
Just a little something to think about as our most likely opportunity for refreshment approaches--the weekend. I hope you can experience renewal as you enter into both the Autumn and the weekend.
Maybe it is the intense blue skies that strike you as odd, or maybe it is the lack of traffic. It was a beautiful cool late summer afternoon. What strikes me as odd is the lack of people.
It is a very rare occasion indeed that one sees this section of University Avenue completely devoid of people--especially during the semester. But WVU played football on a Thursday night, so people weren't traveling to see a game. No classes were in session, and it was a really quiet afternoon.
Anyone familiar with Morgantown knows that this section of campus is typically so full of pedestrians that cars get backed up as they crawl through campus. Yet there are no pedestrians (other than me), and there are no cars. It's a quiet Saturday afternoon.
It's almost as if the city was enjoying a sabbath. People were resting. Many students probably traveled home for the weekend. But it really struck me that there was no activity.
And what about us? Do we take time to "cease striving" in our weeks to know God? I've been feeling worn down a lot lately personally. When I see an image like this, it reminds me that we are to enjoy Christ in a Sabbath rest of sorts. My friend Jerry Haynes stopped by last night,and talked to one of our "canvas groups" here in morgantown about sabbath and the feast of tabernacles. Both festivals are reminders that we are not slaves to production but that we are beloved who are cared for by the living God. They remind us to take time to saturate ourselves in His life giving word, and in His goodness.
So, if a college campus can take time to be renewed on a saturday afternoon, can we? Are we willing to carve time out of our endless agendas to be refreshed, renewed, and restored?
Just a little something to think about as our most likely opportunity for refreshment approaches--the weekend. I hope you can experience renewal as you enter into both the Autumn and the weekend.
2 comments:
I miss walking through that part of town.
I don't miss the traffic.
Bryan Lilly
I think in our desire to be free from the Law, we have forgotten the benefit of rest. We can so busy ourselves, even with worthwhile things that we end up missing that still small voice. When we take time to rest, we can allow ourselves to connect in a more meaningful way with our Creator. Which is the best reason of all to rest!
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