Awake. Breathing. Alive.

Photo: Living Cross at Camp Mack

I will be attending my 6th Pastor's Sabbath at Camp Mack from noon tomorrow to noon Wednesday. I always look forward to this time of rest and renewal with other Brethren pastors. It gives me a much needed boost to get away from life that can sometimes feel less than life. So it is on the heels of being on retreat at the best camp in the world that I write this reflection on Sabbath/Solitude time.

Sabbath time is to break from the unhealthy pace our culture puts us on. Jesus spent many days and nights away from the crowds to refresh his worn out spirit. So why does sitting quietly, doing little to nothing help to renew the spirit? Perhaps it's because with nothing else to think about, breathing becomes interesting. You realize that you'd forgotten this simple, life-sustaining act. You begin to notice how the air comes in and goes out. It soon becomes your prayer. And after awhile, you realize that everything comes and goes - life itself and all that happens in it, good and bad comes and goes. This awareness can make you feel as if you've been sleepwalking through your days, missing so much of what is going on around you and inside you. But now you're awake. You're breathing. You're alive.