“Rest and be Thankful” – William Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 – 1882)
“There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.” Alan Cohen
“And He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” (Genesis 2:2, NKJV)
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]here is a time and season in our lives for everything. Even those things we love the most need to sometimes be put down for a time. You can grow weary of work. But you can grow weary of pleasure as well. We can mistake pleasure for joy, and exhaust our hearts in the midst of happiness. I don’t think our souls were made for constant action, even if that action brings great enjoyment to ourselves and others. The loud clamor of excitement, action and attention can drown out the whisper of our spirit for a season of rest and peace.
I’ve been on sabbatical. A sabbatical from writing assignments. A sabbatical from constant social media activity. A sabbatical from blogging, and replying to emails and networking.
Many have reached out to me and asked if I’m okay. Thank you for your kind words and appreciation. I’m well. I have been healthy. I have been hard at work with my pharmacy career, my family, my church and a few hobbies. I just felt it was time for a mental break from the constant writing.
What have I been doing?
Lots of things.
We took a nice family vacation cruise to Bermuda last year. This was the first time in 25 years of marriage we actually left the country on a trip. I made a pretty significant career shift to work for a large outpatient cancer center in Boston. That’s been great. I watched my daughter (the 2nd of our 4 children) graduate from college and land her first teaching job. I started up a little book club with some friends from church. I began working on my MBA. I took up home-brewing and have made several pretty tasty batches of beer. I lost a little weight.
So what now?
I’m not sure. You might think after nearly a year without writing that I would be bursting with ideas about what to do next. But the fact is that I have been deliberately not thinking about it much at all. As I slowly now begin to think about it again, I suspect the ideas will begin flowing soon. But I’m not rushing it. Not pushing it. Not giving myself deadlines and goals and targets.
Maybe this blog will become something totally new. But I don’t want to even guess at the moment. The longing to write again is stirring in my soul. But I’m not so eager that I can’t wait and let it wake up on its own. The sabbatical was nice. Rest is nice. But I think I see the sunrise on the horizon. It’s a new day. And who knows what a day will bring?
Last modified: September 10, 2022
