Today begins a super special time for me and my family.
A deep breath of sorts.
One of those deep breaths you take driving through the hills on a warm summer night when the sun is setting and the winding road takes you through an unexpectedly cool patch of air in the woods.
A deep breath that you take as you execute your first cannonball of the summer off the diving board as a 10-year-old after your last day of school.
That breath that you take sitting on the porch on a perfect evening with a good bourbon in hand (neat) and your favorite people.
The kind of deep breath you take at the end of the day where you've done what you were made to do and you're resetting for the coming dawn so you can do it again.
I drove away from X Church today with the gift of a sabbatical for part of this summer and I couldn't be more thankful. I'm thankful for the team I get to lead and do life with, thankful for the church that our family calls home, thankful that I get to do this not only as a job but as a deep-rooted passion, and especially thankful for the leaders I work for and with who have gifted this to me and my family.
Gifts come in many variations. An extended leave to reset, recharge, and renew so I can do this until I'm 95 is one I never thought I'd receive, and if I were completely honest with you, one that began to put a wide variety of thoughts and emotions in me.
But Jessica, as she does, threw truth at me the other day that I'm holding close for the next several weeks.
There’s a book in the Bible called Ecclesiastes, that much of me always resonates with, for better, or for worse. It almost has an existentialistic vibe:
“Vanity, vanity, all is vanity.”
…so says the writer of the ancient text, as well as 20-year-old Trae’s metal band Losing All Hope.
Ecclesiastes 9:7 simply says "So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this!"
I love how Eugene Peterson said it: "Seize life! Eat bread with gusto, drink wine with a robust heart. Oh yes—God takes pleasure in your pleasure! Dress festively every morning. Don’t skimp on colors and scarves. Relish life with the spouse you love, each and every day of your precarious life. Each day is God’s gift. It’s all you get in exchange for the hard work of staying alive. Make the most of each one! Whatever turns up, grab it and do it. And heartily!"
I don't feel like I've earned or deserved this gift of time any more than anyone else, but what I am going to do is be thankful, seize this part of life, and live it to the fullest.
And I’ll be slowly winding up for all that comes next. See you soon.
Love this brother. My sabbatical started with thoughts of what I wanted. It became something I needed but I needed other circumstances to give me that push and so glad I did. As we get to the tail end of our journey abroad, reading your thoughts gave me appreciation and an embrace of what we have done as a family. Life is short and I hope God took/takes pleasure in our story. Chapter 2 coming soon!