Will's Sabbatical

A few years back, a well-known middle-aged pastor in D.C. got up in front of his congregation not in his usual Sunday robe but in a nice t-shirt that said “Selah.” He was making a point similar to what Bilbo Baggins did at his eleventy-first birthday party in the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring—he was leaving. Indeed, like the book of Psalms, the reverend was inserting a deliberate pause in the middle of an otherwise busy ministry (though he wasn’t leaving his church permanently).

Well, I wasn’t that creative (nor as old as the fictional Bilbo) as I set out for a real pastoral sabbatical. But, I was my own brand of drained and dazed. Other than feeling more like a machine and less of a human, there’s not much more to elaborate. No blame on anyone. It’s just the way it was.

Thankfully, I haven’t been asked that much: What did you do on your sabbatical? For the answer is a mere ‘nothing much’. By God’s grace, I was able to let go of all my church work. My calendars were off. I wanted to “do” certain things but I didn’t press hard. I got to spend time with my family. I did read some but actually not as much as I normally do. I slept more and better. I exercised more, too. I did do a bit more writing than I usually produce but not as much as I wanted to do. I started to feel myself a bit more humanly.

In a six-week window, two trips sweetly accented the rest. The first was Texas/Nashville. In Texas, I had the delight of spending with my parents. One of our main objectives (morbid as it sounds) was to scope out funeral homes to plan ahead for them if and when they are called home to the Lord. Talk about sticker shock! Killer prices. ;+) Of course, the food was great and a baseball game with the White Sox in town beating the home team added to the fun. I also got to hang with a friend there who was one of my groomsmen. Friendships that last this long are a gift from the Lord. Whoever said that they “double our joys and halve our sorrows” is spot on. Into the weekend, I flew to Nashville to visit our former members Adam & Kenzie Wheaton, who are leading Rosedale Baptist Church. I volunteered to preach for Adam so he could have a break, so this is the only “work” I did. But it didn’t feel like it. They are doing good work and are faithful to each other and the church God has placed them in. A nice little surprise was the Sunday hockey game after lunch, and it was the amateur pick-up league that Adam is a part of! That guy is full of all kinds of tricks!

The second trip took Jacob and me to Ohio and PA to see some baseball games at stadiums we hadn’t been to yet. We enjoyed the added company of Rachel’s dad for a couple of the games. Oddly enough, we got to see Sam Darge at his new place of work in Akron, OH just days after he and Hazel moved from Addison. On our way home, we crashed in Detroit with close friends. Once again, the laughter, the joy of a decades-long friendship blew wind in my sails.

In case you’re wondering, I attended church every Sunday; mostly here in the metro Chicago area. Praise God for what he’s doing on the South Side, downtown, and in the suburbs. Did you know that some churches do it differently?! Haha. One church I went to, several people came up to me whom I had taught high school Spanish back when I could fit Haddon on my forearm. Now, they are parents (and mostly don’t speak Spanish).

Devotionally, I started memorizing one of the psalms and read the book of Joshua. Naturally, this has piqued my curiosity about Judges. So, I took the bait!

With this sabbatical in the books, I may plan the next one differently. Dear ASCC, thank you for allowing me this rest. It wasn’t all sunshine and unicorns or always a spiritual high, but it was immensely restful. For that, it was a success, and I am deeply thankful. Back to reality with you!

*Other pictures not included here portray exactly the very other things I wasn't doing during sabbatical.