Tomorrow I officially wrap up my unexpected, brief summer sabbatical due to not going to Rwanda (see previous posts). As always, God has a way of redeeming disappointments, and this was no exception. Anxiety, at least for me, doesn't completely shut down my life. Once I'm through the experience, whether I walk through it or run from it, life pretty much returns to normal. It simply takes a few days to get my balance back. Most sabbaticals include some personal time and learning time. And these 10 days were no exception. So here's how I spent my time:
*The first two days I mentally beat myself up for giving into anxiety and not going to Rwanda. As you can imagine, I was lots of fun to be around those two days. Jan was so glad I stayed home!
*Spent a half a day in Prescott having my bike repaired.
*Started reading The Hoax, by Clifford Irving, his account of how he tried to write the autobiography of Howard Hughes back in the 70's, a story he was making up.
*Watched (and continue to watch) the Tour de France.
*Spent Saturday and Sunday morning visiting Northcoast Church in San Diego (see earlier post).
*Spent Sunday night and Monday morning hanging out at Disneyland (believe it or not, two very relaxing days!)
*Got a lobotomy to fix my anxiety problem. :)
*Actually, began a new round of counseling to deal with this recent anxiety setback.
*Caught up on some of our favorite British Mystery TV shows like Murphy's Law, Inspector Frost, and Foyle's War.
*Took naps.
*Exercised.
*Saw Live Free or Die Hard (twice, once without and once with Jan), Ratatouille, and Harry Potter. Loved them all.
*Hung out with my son and his wife.
*Read two church-oriented books--How (Not) to Speak of God by Peter Rollins and The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church by ReggieMcNeal.
*Spent some nice time with Jan (after the first two days) and with our dogs.
*Griped about the overwhelming heat we're experiencing.
*Tomorrow I top things off with a nice massage.
All in all, a nice refreshing, inspiring break.
While I still grieve a bit over not going to Rwanda, I think I'll look back on this time as a moment when God's grace intervened and turned a painful setback into a profitable one.
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4 comments:
I'm glad things are calming down for you.How is your poor wife?! As the wife of someone with anxiety disorders(that is afraid to get help for)all I can say is consider yourself very lucky and EXTREMELY Blessed that she hasn't tried to strangle you yet!...lol...I'm sure she has wanted to!!
Thankfully Jan is slow to anger and abounding in love. And, just between us, she has some stuff I put up with as well, although, off hand, I can't think of what it might be. I truly got the better end of this deal.
By the way, buy From Panic to Power by Lucinda Bassett and make your hubby read it. He'll be glad he did, as will you.
I wish I could have a mini-sabbatical...sounds very much like a vacation to me...movies...books...etc. Must be nice...
That's really what a sabbatical is supposed to be--a time of rest/vacation with work stuff thrown in. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America recommends a congregation send its pastor on a sabbatical every 7 years, lasting 3-6 months. This was my first in 23 years of ministry lasting 10 days. And you're right--it was nice!
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