Clergy self-care...

For far too long - and for too many years - I had NO idea what clergy self-care really meant. I guess I am just one of those hard-headed guys who had to hit bottom HARD before I could see that taking care of myself and my loved ones was essential to remaining in ministry. So now - whether I THINK I need it or not - every 6-7 weeks, we get out of Dodge for 48 hours of down time... and I mean REAL down time.

+ no computers

+ no cell-phones

+ no place where I am likely to bump into ANY body from church

And it is not that I don't like bumping into folks from church: when I am in town, I actually love it. But there is an old, old story about a woman calling up her pastor and complaining that she wasn't able to talk to him because his secretary said he was out for the day. "You know, pastor," said the irate one, "the Devil NEVER takes a day off." To which the pastor replied without missing a beat, "I know and I would be just like him if I didn't get away from time to time."

So pretty much for the last nine years, we make it part of our religious practice to get out of town on a regular basis to sleep, visit, walk and reconnect. And tomorrow is another one of those times: we were away right after Christmas in Boston (totally great) and now we are headed off to Brattleboro - a sweet little arts/hippie town about 45 miles northeast of here. This is a town with five - count them - five independent bookstores to say nothing of art galleries, concert halls and movie theatres. We'll hit a jazz/reggae benefit for Haiti tomorrow night and who knows what else...

And it will be a part of saving our souls and marriage and minds. This winter - thanks be to God for the guys who got me into cross country skiing - I have been much more grounded than last year. To be sure, there has been a whole lot less snow, but we've begun to figure out how to make this cold, dark time more meaningful. And now - in anticipation of Lent - we'll get rested and ready to roll with these two days away. (It also helps to know that in early March we'll get a whole week away in Arizona where it is about 75 and sunny, too!)

So... here's to clergy self-care - mental and physical health - and sabbath time to get reconnected with the source of love and God's grace. (Here's a TOTAL blast from the past - one of my favorite Sabbath songs from the psychedelic era - that still makes me smile and fills me with rest: sunshine instead of snow indeed!)