My sabbatical begins in 6 days.

The Louisville Institute had a nifty hand-out entitled, “How to Have a Good Sabbatical.”  The first thing on the list was, “Start now living the sabbatical disciplines you desire.”

Yeah, right.

When a friend of mine heard that I had put in a 14 hour day on Sunday he said, “You don’t have to try to fit 3 months’ worth of work into two weeks you know.”  No, I don’t know.

The books all say that the congregation will become anxious in anticipation of my absence.  I don’t know if that’s true, but I certainly have been.  Initially, I was afraid that things might unravel in my absence.  Now I know better: they will hum along without a glitch.

The very first thing we contend with in Sabbath is the truth: we are not indispensable.  When we step off the treadmill, when we abstain from the impulse to try to control situations around us, when we simply sink into the blessing of being and resting, the world can and does get along just fine without us.  Bummer.