From the Rector
I don’t want to give away too many of my secrets right before I step away on sabbatical and someone else comes in to do my job for eight weeks. That sounds like a recipe for working yourself out of a job, but one secret seems safe enough to me. I really don’t have more than three or four things to say that are worth listening to. We are made in community, God delights in you, resurrection is real, and the best gift you have to offer anyone is yourself.
I come up with lots of different ways to apply and share my thoughts and consequently I am able to preach three sermons in a row about being made in community without anyone realizing that they have been listening to the same thought over and over again. Other times, like this past Sunday, I sprinkle a little bit of several ideas into one sermon. I felt like Luke’s road to Emmaus required a little resurrection, community, and delight, all mixed together. That means, if you were here on Sunday and you read this note, you will have gotten all I have to give in the few days right before I begin the larger chunk of the sabbatical I began last year.
I feel like it is important for you to know what I will be doing while I am away. Perhaps you could offer a prayer for me. I think my back and my knees in particular would love to make it on to your prayer list because for the next two months, I am focusing almost entirely on my physical wellbeing. How do sprints and sit-ups connect to my work at St. Timothy’s? It is all about doing the work I need to do to offer my family, friends and the church the best version of myself.
The best version of me is energetic, creative, playful, ready, and willing to tackle whatever challenge is coming our way. The best version of me has the endurance to work hard physically, mentally, and emotionally and still have the capacity to tenderly carry the hopes and dreams of our congregation in my heart and mind. The best version of me is only available in the future because when I am at my best, I have the energy and desire to get a little bit better everyday.Getting, and then staying, healthy is my part in ensuring that I can continue to offer my best self for years to come.
If we can be certain of one thing in life, it is that the future holds ups and downs for all of us. When I return in July, I simply hope to have created some healthy habits and patterns that can help me move, as gracefully as possible, from one hill to the next. I have no expectation of having returned to the boy in his early twenties you see pictured here, trying to fly off the up-hills of Jockey’s ridge. I do believe I can return to a place of that type of resilience, once again seeing the steep hills as adventures and challenges as the ramps we need to soar to new heights. That is what I hope for because I believe there is love, joy, and meaning waiting right in front of us, if we can continue to put one foot in front of the other.
Faithfully,
John+