29 (From the Archive)
A Dramatic Moment from TOTAL IMPACT Vol. 2 Issue 2 originally published in February 1994
A vacation. Best defined as a week of work that you don’t get paid for. As a matter of fact, if I were to make a top-ten list of the times of the year I am most exhausted, "vacation" would certainly be no lower than #4, falling somewhere between "customs after return flight from Europe" and "third month of wife’s pregnancy.‘
But, a vacation is intended to be an escape, no? A time when you plan nothing and achieve nothing surrounded by others who mean something in your life. But, we (as a society or as a church body) have made a mistake. We have forgotten how to vacate our busyness. We have forgotten how to stop and take the seven that God granted after he worked a straight six.
So, this month marks a special gift in our lives. We spend our time rushing, planning, working, and worrying everyday, because it’s common fact that if we don’t do 12% more than our planned share of life, Denny’s will explode. We’ve planned out our week, our month, our year, our future - but there’s one thing we didn’t plan on.
The 29.
Once every four years, God reminds us that if we’re not willing to schedule a break, He’ll schedule one for us. This month, we’re reminded that life has its bonuses. And sometimes, that bonus is Thursday the 29th.
An extra day. It seems impossible to believe that in this demolition derby called a year, we’re actually being given a rest stop. Now, the question remainsL will we continue our path through never-ending details, or will we halt and give our families and our God a little well-deserved attention?
The number of times I’ve uttered “if I only had enough time” should equal at least the sum of Methuselah’s descendants or missing socks afloat in the ocean. I make a decision this year to let my 29 be symbolic - and I will do my best to give that weekend in attention to those whose lives have healed mine: my wife, family, friends - and to God.
I promise to finally take the example from a Creator who worked - and then rested.
Next: “Whoa” A Dramatic Moment from TOTAL IMPACT Vol. 2 Issue 3 originally published in March 1994