It is no coincidence that I write this on a Tuesday. Mondays are my day off. Here is what my Monday looked like. I woke up and headed to Art's Tavern for one of my favorite breakfasts- Biscuits and Gravy, with a healthy compliment of fresh-brewed coffee. Then it was off to the shanty for a couple hours of fishing. The fishing wasn't great, but the time was. This has been a weird winter... anyway, I went home and changed for Meijer, where I wandered around getting groceries (including a breading mix for the fish I caught for my lunch today, I can't wait!). I got home in the early afternoon and headed out to the Leelanau School to lift some weights and help teach a class on weightlifting class. If there is anything I enjoy more than lifting, it's telling other people to lift. And it was a good lift. There are few things I enjoy more than watching someone who is motivated to lift discovering a new exercise that will do what they want. Weightlifting is a lot like discipleship... but you can hear more about that this summer.
After my weightlifting, I was able to enjoy a sit-down dinner with my wife... the first in a week. That's weird for us. Our lives have been pretty divergent in the past seven days, and this opportunity to eat together was a delight. Then it was time for House, my favorite TV show of all time.
All in all, my day was full of rest. It had a slower pace to it, even though I was often on the move. When I went somewhere, I stuck around for a while. I stared into a fish-less ice hole for a long time. The grocery store on President's Day was busier than usual, leaving me to wait in long lines. My gym time was longer than usual with the additional teaching. I remained.
John 15 has stuck out to me in its use of the word "Remain." The word remain sounds like a plea, as though I am one foot out the door, and the soft "remain" beckons me to stay. And so to remain, in my mind, is to turn around and stick around for a while. And so remaining is an act of repentance (turning around is the best translation of the Hebrew word for repentance). Remaining, or resting, is an act of repentance from a life out of control. Rest is an act of self-control when my "to-do" list still has stuff on it. Rest is an act of joy when circumstances would suck the life out of me. Rest is an act of resistance to a culture that claims that the body is good for two things: 1) transportation of one's brain, and 2) a shiny object with which to attract potential mates. Rest is the declaration that I don't take myself too seriously, since I find meaning in laughing at bad movies on Netflix or debating the genius of House with my dad.
My day off bore a tremendous amount of fruit. I would encourage you to find some "remain" today.
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