The contrast between my wife and I’s time in Virginia and our time so far in Buffalo is really standing out to me right now.
Our week at the resort was filled with plenty of down-time, periods of activity followed by plenty of rest, and planning our days to do as little or as much as we wanted to. Our time in Buffalo began with the dreaded delays and cancellations that plague air-travel; we didn’t arrive in Buffalo until a full day after we were supposed to.
Once we were on the ground we started seeing family immediately, and have since only had one “rest day” when we were not spending time with family or planning activities to do. Now, I want to be clear that I enjoy seeing family and spending time with them. But I am seeing that taking a Sabbatical carries a different meaning for everyone, and what we each need to be rested is also different. For me, some activity followed by a period of rest is perfect. So even seeing family I haven’t seen in years and spending time with them can end up being stressful and feeling like a chore if I don’t have some space between those visits (don’t tell them I said that though, that’s just me being real)!
I’m doing what I can to stay rested and fully enjoy the time I have with family. There must be a balance between the good things (family) and the necessary things (resting with God). Finding that balance has been a struggle, but without the struggle there is no victory!