Let's Begin

As I came into church this morning at a little after 9 am, my car thermometer read 89. Not a good sign.

But the heat makes me think about slowing down. It makes me long for a covered porch, where I can sit in a porch swing and drink cold lemonade.

I have been thinking a lot recently about time and seasons.
From Genesis 1 to Ecclesiastes 3, God seems to have designed the world to flow to a certain rhythm. Night and day, summer and winter, spring and fall are more then opposites with one being good and one being bad. They are all needed to make a complete whole.

With electric lights and modern heating and cooling systems, we are able to ignore the rhythms of nature and create our own. Although I consider myself completely modern and do not think that I can live without my DVR, I realize that my life is often out of rhythm. There is no natural flow of work and play, time to do and time to be. Even my spiritual life can seem to be more of tasks on my to do list than a time of creation and renewal.

I have no magic pill to take or to give to fix this problem for myself of others. But I think that I am going to begin to take some small steps to create a healthier rhythm for myself.

I have decided that at least for the rest of the summer, I will spend Thursday mornings in rest or play. I will seek out spots that allow me to breath deeply of God's Spirit. This Thursday will be spent with 4 other women clergy in my support and accountability group. Next Thursday, I am going to play with my daughters. Future days will include trips to Franklin Conservatory and the Columbus Zoo.

So here is the question for this week. Where do you go for rest and renewal?