This past Sunday, I went with a group of friends out to an obscure trail on the far side of cooper's rock, and hiked. It was refreshing because many Sunday afternoons I am spending time making last minute additions to a message or performing some administrative function. I am trying to change the flow of my week a bit though.
As I walked along this trail (one of my favorite places in the whole park), I noticed the water was extremely low. There was just a trickle of water in many places. In fact, I am accustomed to seeing the rocks in the photo above completely submersed in water.
Sometimes I think that our spiritual life can look like this. We can hit a drought, and then all of our energy and efficiency is reduced to a trickle. The problem is that many of us try to perform the same tasks at the same rate (and sometimes even more) when something like this happens.
I've been noticing this tendency in myself lately. It's not a recent pheonomenon for me, but a little bit of time with my dad last week made me realize how unrealistic my expectations of what I can get done on a given day truly are.
I think in our culture, we place such a premium on pragmatism and efficiency that we try to squeeze as much out of any given day as possible. I'm all for living life to its fullest, but sometimes I think that when we center our energy on effiency we lose our balance. We try to run on full power with only a trickle of water to propel us.
We can learn a lot from studying the created world. The rest of the world takes regular breaks. Animals in the woods travel a bit, and then rest, and then they travel again. I feel like my life has been a continuous relearning of balance and harmony.
As you go through your day today, may you have some time of slowing down, and of being restored and rejuvenated.
As I walked along this trail (one of my favorite places in the whole park), I noticed the water was extremely low. There was just a trickle of water in many places. In fact, I am accustomed to seeing the rocks in the photo above completely submersed in water.
Sometimes I think that our spiritual life can look like this. We can hit a drought, and then all of our energy and efficiency is reduced to a trickle. The problem is that many of us try to perform the same tasks at the same rate (and sometimes even more) when something like this happens.
I've been noticing this tendency in myself lately. It's not a recent pheonomenon for me, but a little bit of time with my dad last week made me realize how unrealistic my expectations of what I can get done on a given day truly are.
I think in our culture, we place such a premium on pragmatism and efficiency that we try to squeeze as much out of any given day as possible. I'm all for living life to its fullest, but sometimes I think that when we center our energy on effiency we lose our balance. We try to run on full power with only a trickle of water to propel us.
We can learn a lot from studying the created world. The rest of the world takes regular breaks. Animals in the woods travel a bit, and then rest, and then they travel again. I feel like my life has been a continuous relearning of balance and harmony.
As you go through your day today, may you have some time of slowing down, and of being restored and rejuvenated.
1 comment:
A friend of mine wrote a blog entry not that long ago about fruit bearing trees. She said that most trees have periods of dormancy & rest, and without those, there can't be any fruit bearing later on. Additionally, there is little fruit produced when the tree is in a growing phase.
I found that to be interesting and so pertinent to life! I have a tendancy to think that if I'm not doing something for God, I must not be doing something for God, but I forget that there are times that I need to grow quietly and that there are times that I need to rest. And that if I ignore those times, I'll be unable to produce the best or most fruit during the seasons where I'm to be doing that. I'm in a bit of a dormant season right now -- your post reminded me to get the most out of that while this is the resting time.
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