Do we need a holiday from God?

For the last six months, I have found myself struggling with work, struggling with family and struggling with church – trying to achieve balance and failing. I went on my summer holiday and I took my Bible; I read not a single page. And, other than praying during the turbulence on the flight, I didn’t refer to or think of God much at all. I did however, swim in the sea and I did stare at the waves constantly rolling in, and feel the stress drop from my shoulders. I stopped looking at the news or worrying about the budget or the future of our country. I just felt some peace.

Coming back home, I realised that I had been overstretching myself. I am on rotas to sing at church and to help out on the sound and PowerPoint desk; I am in a monthly home group and I go to church every Sunday. I have also been trying to get actively involved in politics. After a week of juggling work and looking after a young child, I have been filling my weekends with more and more stuff.

As you might remember from last month, I had wrestled with trying to understand what God might be calling me to do. Should I join an anti-austerity march or learn to deliver an Alpha course to rehabilitate prisoners? I had decided to prioritise the anti-austerity march. But maybe God was calling in a totally different direction?..

____

This is an extract from the September 2015 edition of Reform.

Subscribe to Reform