The Value of Time Away
This is a pic of Charity shopping during our time away today, at one of her favorite stores…Bath and Body Works.
This week, I have taken a couple of days away to spend some time with Charity. Yesterday, we celebrated three years of marriage, and we’re having a blast. We went to Nashville initially, and we’re currently in Atlanta.
Over time, especially my last year and a half serving as the senior pastor of a church, I’ve come to the realization that time away is extremely important. Time away is good for one’s relationship with God, marriage, perspective, pure rest, and fun.
Relationship with God
Life can get so busy that sometimes it is easy to throw God into the mix of a day as another thing to clog up the day’s task list. Time away assists me in looking at my relationship with God to think about where I am in my relationship with Christ, where I need to improve things, and to have more time with my Lord.
Marriage
My marriage would not be near the place it is right now if it weren’t for our time spent together away from home. Especially as a pastor, it is very hard for me to truly be away from work. Ministry creates problems in pastors’ personal lives where it is easy to allow the ecclesia to serve as a higher priority than the family. Time away assists me in keeping my priorities straight.
Perspective
Whenever I leave town, it allows me to take a step back, and realize some fresh ideas. Have you ever noticed that most Offensive Coordinators for football teams sit in the coach’s box at the top of the stadium instead of on the sideline? The reason is because it gives the coaching staff a fresh and different perspective. Time away gives me the opportunity to gain a fresh perspective on life and my ministry to help me to see what I need to do to most effectively fulfill my calling from the Lord.
Pure Rest
I don’t know about you, but I’m a hard charger. I get up early every day, exercise, work on my dissertation, lead a church, teach a college-level course once a week in the Fall and Spring, and live a busy life. It is nice and healthy to get away and simply rest.
Fun
I grew up going on vacations, traveling a lot, and valuing time away. As a child, some of my greatest memories are from time away. Charity and I have had a blast taking some time away.
Yes, there is great value in taking some time to get away.
