During December I fell ill with a combination of the flu, Covid, and eventually pneumonia. Needless to say, I spent the better portion of the second half of the month in bed. For somebody who is a full time pastor, works a second job doing delivery, and runs a small farm here at home (and is a husband and father of four), I was feeling very out of place laid up in bed.
Prior to this morning I had last preached a message on December 12th, three days before my body fell apart. As a pastor, I feel my calling is being most fulfilled in the sharing of the Gospel message. Preaching on Sunday morning is where I most feel at home, and assured that I am doing exactly what God has for me to do with my life.
I found it weird that in the midst of resting for over half a month, and then taking some additional time off of preaching, that while my body was healed, my mind and soul were still not fully refreshed. I was doing devotionals, and reading my Bible, listening to worship music, and I was even blessed the last two weeks to be in attendance at church without the responsibility to preach. I was able to come and be fed.
I tried to use my down time to absorb everything that I could. This meant allowing God to work on me in the down time. I was excitedly anxious to get back behind the pulpit, but not at the risk of rushing recovery. While I do not believe God made me sick, I do think that God used my sickness as a means to slow me down, and remind me of the importance of rest.
Long story short, over the last month I felt the grind of the last two years, during the pandemic, washing away. The renewed vigor for getting back to work rejuvenated my soul. The excitement level for jumping back into preaching was something that I had taken for granted over the last few years. Don't get me wrong, preaching is my favorite part of being a pastor, but I had allowed myself to start to feel like it was part of the routine.
Today, after a month away, I was not only excited, I was actually a little nervous. I like nerves, they remind me that what I am doing is important, and they press me to be better prepared and equipped. It was weird because I had become so comfortable preaching, I had not been scared in a while. An amazing thing happened this morning, I was reminded how much I love what I do.
Sometimes taking the time to rest, reflect, and recharge, better equips us to be able to come back and give our all. It also serves to remind us of how much we really love what we do. I never lost sight of the love I have for what I do, this time away reminded me of the passion that I have for doing it.
Be sure to rest, that way you can get back in the saddle feeling ready for the ride of your life.
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