That timeless verse is on a big sign you see as you enter (and leave) the retreat center where I spent nearly a week in Frankfort, IL. The Portiuncula Center, affectionately known as “The Port,” has been a special place for many years but I had never stayed in the hermitages before. Simple little places meant for a solo stay and NO WIFI.
I did sit still. And slept and read and walked and prayed and listened to classical music 24/7. On the way down there, we already had a sense that my original arrangements might not be long enough, so I stayed two extra days, Monday afternoon through Sunday night. And I was fit enough upon return to make good on a couple days of fulfilling promises I’d made about housework.
As Rev. Wayne passed on Sunday morning, I got a taste of restoration I haven’t savored in a couple years.
I’ll pass on my special thanks for Wayne personally. I really appreciated his message I just took in. He so clearly proclaimed this Biblical truth–the relationship between “remembering” God’s strength and being renewed for our present hardships. No rosy picture of the past required; just remember… what God has already seen us though.
I pledge to continue taking this in as the reality check I need. There are many aspects of this present time which are hard, sad, exhausting. AND We are not alone. To allow that to sink in and make a difference, we ALL must find the ways to sit and be still.
I know the flexibility of a pastor’s job may seem to make it easier to do so but trust me it does not necessarily. It still boils down to choice and discipline. I believe I took zero net time off last year. And one week in January 2021 I clocked 75 hours. (This was a warning flare, an unusually high amount but in a pattern of my working more than our contractual agreements). These were my choices, no one else’s. No one else’s implicit or explicit expectation.
As we head into Lent shortly, we appreciate the wisdom of the Church’s spiritual practices and a season beckoning us to attend to our spiritual grounding in Christ. I pray that you will each heed the Spirit’s tugging and warning signs, and choose the stillness you need. I’m not just talking about swapping out moving parts.Stillness. Even a FEW MINUTES a day, guarded with your intentions to remember God and practice receiving Christ’s care, will make a difference.
May even this season be, in the grace of God, renewing.
In Christ’s Peace,
Pastor Jacki