This week is all about family.
After finding out that the annual family beach trip was cancelled, we were saddened to say the least. However, as plans would have it, my Uncle graciously offered to let us stay in his house in California. The trick would be getting there. With less than a weeks worth of preparation, we set off on a 1600 mile adventure with a 10 month old in the back seat.
On the way, we were able to stop in the Mojave Desert and Joshua Tree National Park.
Two days and 25 hours later, we finally made it and I am writing this to you on the porch of a lovely cottage about a mile from some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen.
Even though this is not what we had originally planned, it was a great way to find a moment of peace and time to reflect on what God is doing in me and my family. It is also a great way to reconnect with my Uncle and spend time with him before his cancer treatment begins.
John Calvin, as quoted by Piper in Desiring God, says, “If God contains the fullness of all good things in himself like an inexhaustible fountain, nothing beyond him is to be sought by those who strike after the highest good and all the elements of happiness.”
There is great joy to be found in family trips, California, and seeing my son experience the ocean for the first time, but all of those pale in comparison to the immeasurable joy we can experience as we worship the Father. As Piper puts it: “Happiness in God is the end of all our seeking.”
One of the best things about this sabbatical is it allows for us to make time for the things we should always be making time for: seeking the face of the Father in everything that we do. My prayer is that when our sabbatical month is over and we return to “normal” that our lives would be anything but normal. Is it possible that our problem is not pleasure itself, but that our desire for pleasure is too weak? We settle for the short-lived pleasures (a new car, a vacation, television) and have lost sight of what it means to worship the eternal Father. May we use our sabbaticals to remind us of where our true desire can be found.
