Tomorrow I leave for two weeks in Mexico. I will be in the Southern state of Chiapas and am not sure about my internet connection. So it is possible that you won’t hear from me for a couple of weeks or at least intermittently.
It does raise another idea about how clergy can take care of themselves. It is a good idea to occasionally plan something special that interrupts the pattern of your life. In many ways what I will be doing in Mexico is very hard work. I will be lecturing for two hours at a time at least twice a day. However, because it will be in such a different setting and the rhythm so totally different, there is a sense in which it will be refreshing.
What might you plan that would interrupt your routine and allow you to have a refreshing experience. It might be pure fun but even if it involves a lot of work, it allows you to step back from the normal pattern of your days and that can have inspiring effects. In some ways, that too can be a sabbath experience.
I would guess that the anticipation of the event will also be beneficial. That too moves your mind in a different direction. I have a friend who planned a sabbatical that brought together two unlikely passions of his. He is an avid chef as well as very interested in acting to bring about peace in the world. His sabbatical combined learning to cook unique dishes from several countries who were challenged by violence. He particularly focused on the Middle East. Just to hear him talk about his plans before he left revealed the renewed energy that he was experiencing.
Keep looking for ways to care for yourself and to assist churches and presbyteries or judicatories to care for pastors and educators. I hope to be able to send a few things from Mexico but will return the middle of August.
