Our boys are riding their bikes to school on Monday. They will walk into third and fifth grade. Kennady will be taking the bus to 7th grade (Simon Junior High). It is here already. We have so many questions as this day approaches.
Did we maximize the summer?
Did we do enough fun stuff?
Did we waste the time off?
I have an interesting idea: We should be more “summer-like” all year ’round.
You should really be more unproductive on a regular basis.
I feel confident in saying that to 99% of Americans. At least, you should try to be unproductive. I think sometimes we try so hard to be productive that we end up burning out and not being productive at all.
God was rolling along, creating things, saying they were good when, after 6 days, he stops and decides to do nothing productive. He rested. Then, when the law was being given to his people, he makes one of the big ten laws, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Exodus 20:8
It must be a pretty big deal if it made the top ten list.
I always thought that keeping the Sabbath meant that I was supposed to go to church every Sunday. It was like, “Remember to go to church every Sunday and don’t forget it! Make sure you go!” However, the Sabbath is more and better than simply going to church every weekend. It can and should include gathering with other believers to worship God, but it will include other ‘non’-activities.
Here is my take: “Remembering the Sabbath, to keep it holy” means: Don’t forget to keep one seventh of your life unproductive. One day a week, intentionally do nothing that is of productive value. By resting one day of the week, you are communicating to God that you do not believe you are the source of accomplishment in your life. You are worshipping God by saying, “I trust that you are in control of everything. I have worked hard this week and now can confidently rest because I believe/trust that you, Jesus, are in ultimate control. All the loose ends from my task list are not going to sink my job, me, or the world. I can be unproductive today because your word says,
“…there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world.” Hebrews 4
Last week, I went on a cruise with around 30 other folks from our church. The second day on the boat, we all gathered in a room for a group meeting. They weren’t sure what to expect. Was I going to preach, teach, have an altar call? (Maybe I should have after Karaoke the night before.) We all sat down and I led them in a short discussion about doing nothing on the boat all week. I told them that I didn’t want them to even think about anything productive. Don’t read a book unless it is for fun, don’t write notes for when you get back on land, don’t do work on the laptop, try your hardest to do…nothing. Nothing but have a good time. We were going to rest. We were going to remember a Sabbath to keep it holy.
I told them that when we left the boat we were going to be spiritually and emotionally higher than when we got on the boat. We were going to be more spiritually healthy. (Probably not physically healthy because we were going to eat around 10,000 calories a day). We were going to be stronger when we left. Not because we had an encounter or specific moment on the cruise, but because we were being obedient and faithful to God by….doing nothing productive. Resting. Trusting that God had everything under control back on land.
As Americans we aren’t conditioned to think this way. We are geared to produce at any expense. We are trying to eliminate all angles that slow us down or hinder growth. We are wired to never take a break. Elizabeth was on the boat with us. She was so relieved to hear the message that day. She told me, “I am always trying to find ways to be productive while I’m resting. I feel guilty simply doing nothing and feel like I am expected to always be productive.”
Two lumberjacks were in competition for several hours. They were trying to see who could chop the most wood. One relentlessly chopped without a break. The other took breaks every thirty minutes. The one who took breaks won. When asked how he won while taking breaks, he said, “Every time I took a break, I sharpened my axe.”
While we were on the boat, I challenged our people to think about sharpening their axe. Every time the temptation came to disobey God (and be productive) use that as an opportunity to say a short prayer. Those are testing moments. Do I trust God’s plan of rest? Do I trust his reward of obedience. Work hard for 6/7ths of your life and then rest hard for 1/7th of your life. Instead of being so balanced that you are always trying to work and always trying to rest, think of it being more of a pendulum. When it is time to work, give it all you got. Then, when it is time to rest, give it all you got.
Go sharpen your axe!
What has your rest been like lately?
Do you struggle to find rest?
What do you do to make sure you are following God’s plan for a regular Sabbath?
One night when Kennady was in the hospital, Kennady’s home health nurse came up and sat with her so I (Erica) could go out get some dinner and feel the sun on my skin. On my way out, I decided to step in to the gift shop because they had these big shiny red balloons that said “SALE”, which is an instant magnet for most women.
I proceeded to call my husband and tell him that this store had a very cute necklace and that it was thirty percent off, which made it only a mere thirteen dollars, and that seeing as we are in such a stressful time I should really do some sympathy shopping and buy this for myself.
Alas, this ploy did not work and I made myself leave the store empty-handed, content that I could use my money to buy myself food to put in my belly instead.
On my way out the door, there stood sweet Jesse. Jesse gave birth to her precious baby boy Wyatt, and her second child with Cystic Fibrosis, just a little over two weeks ago. She was on her way in to see Wyatt in the NICU and I was on my way out to get something to eat.
We stopped and chatted for a while and began to discuss our children and their special needs and how living a life with a special needs child shapes you in so many ways you never realized it would or could.
One of the ways that this life is shaping us, is through us shaping our children and the next generation.
Robin and I feel strongly that the challenges we and our children face in this life will build our character and make us stronger, if we allow it.
Character: 1 one of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish the individual 2 the detectable expression of the action of a gene or group of genes 3 the complex of mental and ethical traits marking and often individualizing a person, group, or nation
Wheew! That is a lot of things to cover, but we will focus on just one point this time around. Character: One of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish the individual.
Character traits can be good or bad, strong or weak, life-giving for life-taking.
Our boys both have a sister with multiple special needs, food allergies and last but not least, they are preacher kids (holla back atcha if you know what I mean).
Don’t you hate it when you get stressed out on your day off? Seems like such a waste.
I (Robin) have found that the stillness or lack of work often makes us feel the true condition of our heart and mind. We do not have the busyness to distract us and mask the pain.
On a Friday morning awhile back (I take Fridays off), I began to feel the pressure of anxiety creep into my consciousness. It wasn’t linked to specific thoughts or pressures of life. It was just a dull roar in the depths of my spirit. Why? I began to ask myself, “What did I leave unaccomplished this week?” Maybe I was getting stressed because I forgot something. Maybe I did something wrong or maybe I didn’t finish something successfully. What was left to accomplish before Sunday? Maybe I needed to ‘get something done’ before our services on Sunday. Is someone mad at me and I need to resolve it? I began to focus on the mystery and try to figure it out. Thinking that if I could just resolve the issue, then everything would be at peace. All these thoughts came before my feet hit the floor. I had only been awake about 30 seconds. So this is what I did…
This is the fifth installment in a series of posts straight from our journal (handwritten). When we first received the difficult diagnosis for our daughter (still in the womb), we immediately started journaling. Click here to start reading Journal from the beginning. Here is what we said:
DAY FOUR – September 28, 2001 – (Erica)
A Prayer…
Trying to take it all in.
That would basically sum up what I am doing. Yesterday was the hardest day. The shock started wearing off. Denise (Phillips) called and talked to me to see how I was doing. It was so good to just talk to someone. She said that we have been given the peace that passes all understanding. It is so true.
You have given us such peace in what would otherwise be a traumatic situation. I thank you, Lord, for your strength and I believe whole heartedly that this child and this situation is going to bring you awesome glory. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of that.
It is so hard and so easy at the same time. Please continue to draw Robin and I closer to you and closer to each other; so that we can find our refuge and strength solely in you. Let us see this through spiritual eyes and not the eyes of man.
Thank you for sending us such abundant support through family and friends. Thank you for a healthy beautiful baby girl.
<3 E.
2013 Commentary Unfortunately, this is the last installment from Erica for quite a while. She wrote a few posts and then didn’t write again until mid-October (a month later). I (robin) continued writing and will post those in coming days. God answered her prayers about her marriage. He used this situation to bring our relationship closely together. The divorce rate for Special Needs parents is a lot higher than for parents of typical kids. We give God the honor for what He continues to do in our life and marriage.
When it is late at night and I have had a rough day, I go into Kennady’s room. She is laying there watching TV. Giggling and rolling around. The lights are dim and the atmosphere is calming. No matter what I have gone through that day or what struggles I am concerned about in the future, Kennady’s reality is much worse. However, her demeanor is so comforting.
Throughout the day, she has been unable to tell anyone what she wants. She has been unable to go where she wants…when she wants. We give her simple choices by holding up two objects and she often picks what she wants by gazing at one longer than the other. However, we are unable to know what choices she wants to make. I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be for her to want something and be unable to tell us. Sometimes she is in pain and we have to start a long process of elimination. For example, if her leg is hurting and she is crying we will start working on other parts of her body. We might give up before we reach her leg and alleviate the pain. Kennady is without most of the “life incentives” we have. No future of an education, career, a boyfriend/husband, driving a car, playing sports, etc. I could go on and on about how her life is a struggle and difficult, but I think most people get the picture.
When considering my day and the concerns that I have, they seem minor when I go into Kennady’s room. They seem to fall off my shoulders when I walk through the door. What little might still be clinging to me melts as I wrap my arms around her and she starts to hold me tight. She starts to comfort me by nuzzling her nose and mouth into my neck as to say, “Don’t worry, Dad. I know what it is like to struggle through the day. Everything is going to be ok.”
She is ok with life. She keeps smiling in the face of adversity. She seems to have mastered Philippians 4:11-13
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
She teaches her father/pastor a spiritual lesson.
Thank you, Jesus for giving me Kennady. I can’t imagine the Love of God that she must feel inside. She is so content. The good of God strongly defeats the pain and suffering of the world. The evidence of God: the Fruit of the Spirit is always in season in her life! What an unlikely place to hear, feel, and experience the power of God! In our weakness, he is strong!
My dear friend and mentor, Randy Phillips wrote this song several years ago. Never has a song resonated with me (Robin) more than this. I have heard it sung over and over, however, to read the lyrics as a poem is even richer to me at this point.
Blessing in the Thorn
I read about a man of God
Who gloried in his weakness
And I wish that I could be
More like Him and less like me
Am I to blame for what I’m not
Or is pain the way God teaches me to grow
I need to know
When does the thorn become a blessing
When does the pain become a friend
When does the weakness make me stronger
When does my faith make me whole again
I want to feel His arms around me
In the middle of my raging storm
So that I can see the blessing in the thorn
I’ve heard it said the strength of Christ
Is perfect in my weakness
And the more that I go through
The more I prove the promise true
His love will go to any length
And reaches even now to where I am
But tell me once again
Lord, I have to ask You
On the cross You suffered through
Was there a time You ever doubted
What You already knew.
God was rolling along, creating things, saying they were good when, after 6 days, he stops and decides to do nothing productive. He rested. Then, when the law was being given to his people, he makes one of the big ten laws, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Exodus 20:8
While we were on the boat, I challenged our people to think about sharpening their axe. Every time the temptation came to disobey God (and be productive) use that as an opportunity to say a short prayer. Those are testing moments. Do I trust God’s plan of rest? Do I trust his reward of obedience. Work hard for 6/7ths of your life and then rest hard for 1/7th of your life. Instead of being so balanced that you are always trying to work and always trying to rest, think of it being more of a pendulum. When it is time to work, give it all you got. Then, when it is time to rest, give it all you got.
Robin and I feel strongly that the challenges we and our children face in this life will build our character and make us stronger, if we allow it.
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