The smell of sabbatical
It's the first morning of my sabbatical... And I was awake at 5:30am! I suppose there are many things rattling around in my head. Trying to finalise, or pause, a significant part of one's life is not an easy feat. I've been preparing for this for quite some time, and I'm sure there are still quite a few things that needed to be arranged, but here I am now. Ready for all that God has for me for these next three months.
Sabbatical of course comes from sabbath, which is the great day of rest. It is first introduced (by that name) in the context of Israelites gathering food on a daily basis. For five days, they gathered food for that day and that day only. If they tried to gather more, the leftovers would rot. But on the sixth day, they gathered food for two days, for that day and the following day - so that they wouldn't have to work on the seventh day as well, so that they could REST. The amazing thing is that on that particular day, the leftovers wouldn't rot, but be good to eat. So during the sabbath, there is rest and there is provision.
An even greater truth that the Bible explains is that all of us can enter a permanent sabbath in Jesus. So the reality of the Christian's life becomes one of rest and provision... Every day. This might just be my greatest point to ponder during my sabbatical sabbath.
I have structured the next three months to try and get the most out of them. June will have a focus on resting and fulfilling a dream. I am excited to be going to the Philippines for the first time. I leave this coming Friday. Our good friends Henry and Arlene will host me there and show me the treasures of their islands. I will also be doing a retreat in Wales, which I'm looking forward to.
July's focus will be unusual productivity. My dad, who is visiting from South Africa, and I will be working on the house a little. Doing some painting and removing some wallpaper, etc. I do love working with my hands and seeing the fruit of labour, so I believe there will be some great lessons there. Finally, during August, I will mainly focus on the family who will also be on holiday then. We hope to do some camping and maybe one or two other bits together.
All in all, I'm excited. Of course, there's a massive expectation for me to return from sabbatical as a spiritual giant... Hah! No pressure! My plan is become a giant this week, then I can rest for the rest.
I hope to post regular updates here by the way.
Bless you!
Sabbatical of course comes from sabbath, which is the great day of rest. It is first introduced (by that name) in the context of Israelites gathering food on a daily basis. For five days, they gathered food for that day and that day only. If they tried to gather more, the leftovers would rot. But on the sixth day, they gathered food for two days, for that day and the following day - so that they wouldn't have to work on the seventh day as well, so that they could REST. The amazing thing is that on that particular day, the leftovers wouldn't rot, but be good to eat. So during the sabbath, there is rest and there is provision.
An even greater truth that the Bible explains is that all of us can enter a permanent sabbath in Jesus. So the reality of the Christian's life becomes one of rest and provision... Every day. This might just be my greatest point to ponder during my sabbatical sabbath.
I have structured the next three months to try and get the most out of them. June will have a focus on resting and fulfilling a dream. I am excited to be going to the Philippines for the first time. I leave this coming Friday. Our good friends Henry and Arlene will host me there and show me the treasures of their islands. I will also be doing a retreat in Wales, which I'm looking forward to.
July's focus will be unusual productivity. My dad, who is visiting from South Africa, and I will be working on the house a little. Doing some painting and removing some wallpaper, etc. I do love working with my hands and seeing the fruit of labour, so I believe there will be some great lessons there. Finally, during August, I will mainly focus on the family who will also be on holiday then. We hope to do some camping and maybe one or two other bits together.
All in all, I'm excited. Of course, there's a massive expectation for me to return from sabbatical as a spiritual giant... Hah! No pressure! My plan is become a giant this week, then I can rest for the rest.
I hope to post regular updates here by the way.
Bless you!
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