"And so we bid a fond farewell...."

Tuesday, Sept. 7
Here I am, four days away from returning to North Chevy Chase Christian Church…and I am enjoying one of my favorite pastimes -- watching the waves roll onto the beach at sunset. Through the wonderful generosity of a church member, I have the opportunity to spend the last few days of this sabbatical soaking up some sun (which is good because my Doc says I’m low on vitamin D!), meditating, writing, reflecting, and contemplating – all of which I have been blessed to enjoy in these three months of sacred time.

My contemplation leads me to wonder what will be different for me as I go back to my calling as minister of this church that has nurtured me into sabbatical. In the workshop I participated in at Pendle Hill, the workshop leader gave us a list of “qualities for chaos.” She was asked by some college students to give them insight as to how to handle the stresses of collage. She came up with these qualities that she suggested would be helpful. As I looked at the list, I found several that are crucial to me as I come back into the routine of my life and work:

•Gratitude: This is a given! How grateful I am to have had this time. How grateful I am that God has blessed my life in so many ways, and has blessed me with a congregation who recognizes the importance of sabbatical.

•Presence: Throughout my life I have been aware of God’s presence – but in this time away, I have had the chance to “be still” in God’s presence in a special way.

•Live in the now: I can’t change the past, and the future contains too many variables, but I can appreciate and delight in the now!

•Reflection: I relish the “discipline” I have developed in taking time each day to reflect and commit myself to try and keep that in my daily life.

•Permission: I give myself permission to be attentive to the needs of my body and spirit.

•Boundaries: I intend to be much more cognizant of the boundaries I need to protect.

•Balance: My life had gotten out of balance, as it does for many of us in the hustle and bustle of our lives. Balance is as important in our personal lives as it is in the natural world.

•“It’s not personal.” I think many ministers tend to take things very personally because ours is an ‘intimate’ calling, but learning to differentiate between the personal and the unseen/unspoken agendas can help prevent imbalance!

•Fresh choice: I related to a friend that one of the blessings of sabbatical has been choice – the opportunity each day to CHOOSE what I wanted to do with my day. As I move back into ministry, I hope to remain open to GOD’S fresh choice for me and for ministry.

•Play: Duh! Who doesn’t like to play? And this has been a life-giving summer, with play included!

And lastly but certainly not least,
•VISION: I’ve not had lighting-bolt revelations or prophetic dreams during sabbatical, but I do have a vision for my life and for my ministry, and while it may not be completely clear as yet, this Sabbtical time has offered me moments of insight and clarity, and my prayer is that I will continue to seek that vision in God’s grace.

It has certainly been a grace-filled journey!
Signing off,
Cheryl