7 LESSONS LEARNED FROM MY SABBATICAL

I am just a few days from finishing a one month long sabbatical. What have I learned?

1. A month is not a long time. It took a week or so to truly clear my mind when I first began the sabbatical. It took another week or so to begin to relax. So, really it is the last few days that have yielded the clarity needed to return refreshed and renewed.

2. I tend to rush things. I wanted the clarity and refreshing the first week, not the last. This was not God's plan. I am learning to walk in the rhythm of His grace instead of the forced pace of demands from others or self-imposed expectations.

3. I tend to always plan to do more than I can do. I look at the list of things I thought I would do on sabbatical and now I laugh. I could not have accomplished all of this in four months much less four weeks. Why do I feel the need to cram so much in to such a short time span? Is it enthusiasm over what God has called me to do and truly wanting to live like I am dying...or am I just foolish and undisciplined in setting priorities and margins for my life?

4. Doing nothing is not bad. Actually the way we are wired means that we are never truly doing nothing. What I mean is that one day on sabbatical I got up about a half hour before dawn and sat on a hillside and watched the blazing colors of the morning dawn fill the sky. I worshiped. It was truly awesome! How many times do we miss God by doing so much stuff for Him that we do not take time to enjoy the simple stuff. Jesus often got up before daylight to be with the Father. I now think I know why.

5. Family is fun. One of the biggest blessings of the last four weeks has been just enjoying my wife, son, and daughter. These guys are a hoot! There is a difference between running around with family; just trying to make it to the next event and truly being with family. The difference is huge. I challenge you to just do nothing as a family except sit and talk and soak in the uniqueness of each family member.

6. We are all way too tense. Why? What is our tenseness and up tightness accomplishing? It is running up our blood pressure, ruining our health, and, at our worst, causing us to run others down because they do not share our "intensity". Isn't there a story in the Bible about Mary and Martha - one was way too uptight and criticized the other for just enjoying Jesus?

7. Sabbaticals are for a season. The words sabbath and sabbatical, are not synonymous with "do nothing". They actually mean to change from the usual routine, and do something different. When I was not doing nothing I got to do things that were different for me and out of my routine. Things like speaking at a mental health conference, returning to celebrate the 125th anniversary of a church that is very special to me, and being "a fly on the wall" at several high level meetings including senior staff and elder board at Lakepointe Church in Dallas. What a learning experience.

Thanks to those who had enough nerve to dare suggest that I should take a sabbatical during this demanding time of family challenges and health crises. I have never,in twenty five years taken a sabbatical and would have never suggested it. Thanks to the wonderful, loving family of Emmanuel for supporting the sabbatical. Janice and I are so appreciative and we have seen the wonderful way our Emmanuel family can work together. We love you!

Now, back to work...but hopefully not the same old rat race!