Rest and Rhythms...

Hello, friends! 

Even though there were a lot of things that needed to get done during our Sabbatical, moving out, moving in, finding a church, getting the kids into daycare, buying a zoo membership, etc., the most important thing for us was supposed to be 6 months to intentionally reflect on the years of work that we've done while being able to rest and prepare for this next season of ministry. I would be remiss if I didn't spend at least one blog post on what I learned over Sabbatical. So, here are a few lessons from my time without work. 

1. Learning to rest is hard work! My original plan was to treat Sabbatical like resting was my job. I was going to try to get in 40 hours of spiritual formation and rest in during a week, just like if I was still working. That. Was. Terrible. Friends, when you're used to working a certain way, getting up at a certain hour, and getting certain things done, breaking out of that habit is actually harder than it looks. I had to give myself permission to sleep in a bit. I had to learn to be OK with not having any discernible accomplishments at the end of the day. I had to re-learn how to take a nap! By the end of the Sabbatical I was much better at resting well but it did take some time, and I was surprised by that. 
2. Not all rhythms are created equal. I've said many times before that I'm a rhythm guy. I work best when I build my day around rhythms and structures. Without having ministry work to do, my days were considerably more free, allowing me to focus on my rhythms and see which ones really mattered. I saw that I had "sustaining rhythms" which were the things I needed to do in order to do my jobs well. Through 10 years of ministry a lot of sustaining rhythms were stacked on top of each other, leading to a lot of work but not necessarily a lot of life. "Thriving rhythms" are the things that give me life and I'm in a better place when I keep up these rhythms but I'm not totally off my game if something doesn't go according to plan. Where I was really surprised was when I discovered that I have some "essential rhythms." These are the things I need to do everyday in order to survive. For example, 15 minutes with Jesus in the morning before Meg and the kids get up is an essential rhythm because it reaped more benefit to me than an hour of Jesus time later in the day after my brain was already thinking about a bunch of stuff. It was fun to discover these essential rhythms and incorporate them into daily life. 
3. Life is really different now from when I started. This may seem like a truism. Of course things are different. I'm married. I have 2 kids. I live in Omaha instead of Columbia. Still, while on Sabbatical I was able to reflect more on just how much life has changed for me while I've been working for InterVarsity. I am so thankful for all the things that God has provided for me over these past 11 years like a home, a family, and a calling. In many ways, the move wasn't an easy one. I didn't expect to leave Southern California before I did. I didn't expect to leave St. Louis before I did. I didn't expect to leave CoMO before I did. Now I'm here in Omaha and I'm so thankful for God's faithfulness in every step of the journey. 

Have an excellent day!

~Adam