Wednesday, August 7, 2013

I Slowed Down The Other Day...

It was a Monday, two days ago, and things were going well - extremely well. I was back from some time away; both time off (vacation days spent mostly around home/Emporia), and time away to work on things for New Life (at an Abbey in Athchison), and I was being productive. While being productive is not a huge accomplishment, after all, it goes with having a job. Yet being as productive as I was on my first day back from time off is a big accomplishment - at least for me.

And in the midst of all of this productivity I did something extremely out of character for me. I stopped. In the past I would have kept going, kept being productive. Yet when I got hungry for my mid-day meal I not only ate...but I stopped everything and ate.

If I am not eating with my biological family, I work through my meals. I realize I am a guy, but I can multi-task if one of the things involves eating. So I spend my meal breaks reading, doing email, or something productive. Yet Monday, for the first time in a long time, I stopped. I sat outside, in the shade, and ate. It was good. I cannot remember what I ate...but I hope I will never forget what happened.

I must be honest, I did not conclude I needed to do this (stop everything and eat) on my own. Two weeks before, during mid-day prayer while at the Abbey, one of the monks thanked God for this break from the labor of the day to enjoy a meal...this time to rest. It resonated, deeply, with me.

Meals are an increasingly big thing for me - but most of that is tied in with the Eucharist (Lord's Supper or Communion if you prefer) - and I am not going into that here. Yet at the Abbey I was struck with how I often rifle through a meal, working...and not resting and taking a break from my toil.

What happened as I ate? I will go into that next time. Yet in the meantime I encourage you to slow down, stop everything, and eat.

No comments:

Post a Comment