Sabbath's End

This last week has been good.

T-- and I made it a special point this week to live in the present moment. I think we actually managed to spend the last seven days without having a discussion about work! Instead we tried something new -- we enjoyed ourselves with whatever we were doing at the moment.

Take yesterday for example. As we were driving from Jamestown to the Buffalo/Niagara region, it kind of occurred to us that we had never actually decided what we were going to do when we got there! So we drove around until we got to the Castellani Art Museum on the campus of Niagara University. It was an interesting collection primarily made up of pieces after 1980. There was a fantastic large installation called Waterfall by Patrick Robideau, which was composed of dozens of old trunks stacked atop one another. However, I was most impressed by the small pieces of mixed media by Gerald Meade. And then for something completely different, we made our way to Old Fort Niagara for a walking tour.

The Teacher in Eccleiastes wrote, "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might." So often I've only thought of that quote in relation to my employment, but I now see that it's just as valid for rest and recreation. Maybe even more vaild. So often I feel guilty during my "downtime" and seek to fill it with some sort of productive activity. But this week has me seeing time off in a different light -- as a Sabbath which is just as important to my family's well-being as putting groceries on the table.

Did I already say it's been good? The Genesee Country Village & Museum... Swimming (and grilling) at my mom's house, playing action figures with my son, going out to eat, watching movies, and even just taking a nap. Whatever we did this week, we did wholeheartedly, and it brought us closer together and more ready for the challenges in the months ahead. But I'm not going to think about that now -- I have a whole day of vacation left to meet some friends at their new church, hit the pool, watch a monster movie, and maybe even catch a nap!