Spring Break 2012

And so it begins.

March break is here and I am reveling in the quietness that comes when there are no other staff or students in the school. I am wearing jeans and and a roll neck sweater, I haven't shaved, and I rolled in to work when I felt like coming in after waking up when I wanted to. If only all work days were like this one...

We have been looking forward to this break for some time now since God has not seen fit to bless us with any snow days (or even snow delays) this school year. It is my hope that a week away from school will help the students grow less familiar with each other and that the teachers will catch a second or third wind, and that the stomach flu virus will run its course outside of the school walls.

I was listening to the radio yesterday and I heard a report about how in France the school all close down for two weeks around this time so that families can all go on ski vacations. Two weeks for skiing! I am thinking that if families are going to the mountains to ski, mothers and fathers must also be taking time off, and that the country must slow down a little bit to relax with all the schools closed and workers taking vacations.

Do we have anything like this in our country? We take off days here and there, one at a time, but we don't have any extended holidays where the country takes a collective break, do we? I remember a few weeks ago Pastor Schaller made a comment in a staff meeting about Presidents Day, how he woke up and then just sat up in his bed for an hour doing nothing and then spent another hour in bed doing very little, and then realized that he had no where he had to be and had nothing that he really had to do, and how relaxing that was. He asked, "Do we have to wait for next Presidents Day for that to happen again?"

Sometimes it is difficult for us to simply be still. There is an exercise that is done to see how people experience time. A leader asks a group to put their heads down and close their eyes and then tells them to raise their hands when they think a minute has passed. Most people raise their hands long before a minute has gone by, because being still can feel like an eternity when you are used to constant stimulation and doing things. We are uncomfortable being alone with our thoughts. Praying for five minutes can feel like five hours in a quiet room.

Jesus took time to be away from his disciples, spending quiet time in communion with God the Father. Jesus was a man on a mission, but he took time to fellowship with his friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in Bethany. He walked to get to where he was going. He sat beside a well to talk to one woman who happened along and when the crowds got to be too much, he hopped into a boat and went sailing with his friends. He was always about his Father's business, and it seems to me that part of that business included taking time away from public ministry to rest and conduct private ministry.

So that is why I am enjoying my quiet time here at school today, taking some moments to write this down for all of you who may be reading it. Don't be like me and feel guilty about not working all the time. Take some time to recharge your physical and spiritual batteries, time to be alone, time to be with those friends and family who need you, time to be around people you need too.