Dear ministry partners,
I am excited to share with you that as of mid October, Holly and I have fully re-engaged in our work following a delightful and refreshing time of renewal/sabbatical for the past two months.
I could share much with you about highlights, discoveries, changes we hope to implement, sweet times of fellowship with the Lord and each other, and much more. Hopefully some of what God taught us will flow into our communication over time. At this point I’ll try to touch on just a few elements:
From books we read, prayers, being quiet, and reflecting, we were challenged with a number of adjustments we want to make in the rhythms of our lives. I (Eric) realized again how important my rhythms are, especially because so much of my life is rather chaotic and “global.” Daily devotion times, exercise times, fighting the encroaching demands from technology (i.e. turn phone off at 9pm and don’t turn on till after morning devos), regular walks and talks with Holly and our kids, these are of utmost importance.
God and family! I memorized sections of Scripture (one of my favorites was 1 Chronicles 16:8-36, David’s prayer of thanksgiving and praise to God). I took notes on things I was learning (kinda like journaling). I acknowledged my limitations, my “smallness,” that God doesn’t “need” me, nor does Africa, nor does our mission organization or team. My family comes the closest to needing me, and I must give them my best. But me being needed does not give me identity or significance. I am just a very small part of His grand plan, and the closer I am rooted in Him, abiding in Him, acknowledging His greatness and my smallness, the closer I am to being where I need to be. At the same time, I do want to give God my best in ministry, but free myself from the pressure I put on myself to carry the lone responsibility for the success of our ministry.
A couple of the books I read emphasized spiritual disciplines I would like to implement more regularly and intentionally in my life, such as: solitude, silence, simplicity, Sabbath, slowing, and serving. I spent hours each morning alone with God, Holly and I enjoyed a delightful time in NE Washington in a very rural, quiet place, we were able to help her parents with their move and I helped a few others with projects on their homes, we de-cluttered our house, and we want to incorporate these elements into our normal lifestyle. We unplugged the TV and went without any electronic entertainment for over a month, we read books together and separately, tried to stay in one time zone for most of the two months!, and just enjoyed life together the old fashioned way.
Admittedly, I did not completely stop work. The nature of my job does not allow me to do this, but I cut way back and didn’t feel the constant pressure to do more than I can get done. And now, I’m truly eager to get back to my work. I have a very full schedule coming up for the next several weeks, but I’m ready for it by God’s grace and in His strength. Thank you much for your prayers, your support, and the opportunity to quietly learn from the Lord during this time.
