Sabbatical - Delayed Gratification and unexpected Reboot

Early 2010 found me close to burnout and looking forward to my furlough in the US in June where I had been offered the possibility of doing a true sabbatical, rather than working in the our headquarters in Dallas. In December 2009, my boss proposed “an open-ended period of unstructured rest time for you in light of your longevity as Director and recently the extreme situations you have been dealing with.”  

Feeling close to burn out, I really latched onto this idea, and God began working the idea into my heart. I came up with a list of books to read about rest and balance and Sabbath and verses to memorize to help “reboot” my spiritual and work life.  I hung a lot of hopes on that future time - looking forward to rest, rather than to trying to build times of rest and Sabbath now.

Then in may 2010, circumstances meant that I had to delay my furlough until early 2011. As I looked at delaying the sabbatical, I said to myself (and God), “What changes can I go ahead and make now?” I realized there was nothing that prevented me from reading the books I had lined up, memorizing the verses on my list, and being more diligent about time alone with God. And God was faithful in that, honoring the extra time and ministering to me, giving me strength and rest needed to extend my field term. 

Now I am finally in 2011 at the beginning of my Sabbatical time. God has already brought me a good way down a new path and I am excited about what is ahead. 


These posts are mostly for me, but feel free to read along at home. I have to do some catching up on past months before we get to current updates.