Sabbatical - Prelude

The opportunity presented itself for me to take a sabbatical this past week.

So I did.

Let me define what I mean by sabbatical.

I am talking about a time dedicated to seeking God,

hearing his voice,

asking Him to teach and refine me in specific ways ~

and in ways I didn't realize I needed to be taught and refined.

It means spending time in His Word,

time sitting quietly,

time looking for Him and His lessons

in the ordinary happenings around me,

time journaling what I discovered about Him ~

and about myself.

It means rest from the stresses and work of ministry,

from worry about health or home or anything else.

 

Just God and me!

 

As those of you who followed my Caring Bridge blog

and, to some degree, the early days of this blog,

you will know that I spent a lot of time running away from home

in the early days of my widowhood.

While those were definitely times of alone time with God,

crying out to Him,

they were not sabbatical times,

they were survival times.

While I certainly learned during those times,

certainly experienced refinement,

certainly grew,

this was different.

This was not a time of

"Oh my goodness, I have to get out of here!"

running from loneliness and grief,

going wherever my car took me,

this was choosing a place where I knew God could most easily speak to me,

where I would most clearly see and hear Him,

with the intent of spiritual growth and refinement and rest.

It was needed!

And it was highly beneficial!

 

I chose the beach.

I drove 12 hours to get there,

12 hours to get home,

I spent two days walking and talking only with God.

 

Why the beach?

It's not the beauty, though certainly it is beautiful!

It's the feeling.

It's wild and serene at the same time.

I can feel the personality of God there.

The silky soft purity and warmth of the sand 

(His absolute love and acceptance of us,

the peace and joy and contentment He brings),

the power of the waves that are both unchanging and in constant movement 

(the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow,

dependable, yet everywhere and flexible

as He moves in the lives of His imperfect children),

the sea air that nourishes my parched skin, hair, eyes, lungs

(the Living Water that quenches our parched spirits).

When I sit or walk on the beaches, 

a quietness envelopes me.

The frenzied thoughts and constant movement that is Gina calms. 

As I play in the waves, 

exuberant joy washes away the cares of life 

and for those moments, 

I revel in the gifts He has given me 

without the caveats of

loss and grief, 

stress, 

"I need to be..." or "I should...", 

worry, 

all the negative things sin ushered into our lives. 

It's how it feels....

 

So, over the next little while,

I will be posting about some of God's work in me,

my time of sabbatical.

I pray He will use what He taught me

to move in other's lives as well.