A Letter from Pastor Gene
Guess who’s back…back again…Gene is back…tell a friend.*
It is wonderful to be back at SUM after six weeks of sabbatical time. In fact, as I told my kids, this is probably the best summer vacation I’ve had since I was a kid. Did I write a book? No. Play my banjo? Not once. I did read a lot and regarding writing the book, I did a little research. The two things that I did do on my “summer vacation” though have changed me, and rejuvenated me and while I am no gymnast (looking at you Simone Biles), I am feeling ready to work with SUM to win gold again.
So, what did I do? Well, the first thing was sleep. I slept a lot. You may remember that I shared a story this past spring about sleeping through a multiple-alarm fire that was blocks from the house I grew up in. Generally, when I am asleep (after what Erin calls my three-breath drop) I am out unless a kid calls or there is some weird house noise. I say generally because for the last year or so I hadn’t been sleeping all that well. Falling asleep was still pretty easy, but I often found myself awake and staring at the ceiling when I should have been sleeping. My brain was whirring with thoughts, worries, hopes, (waking) dreams, your problems, my problems, the problems of the nation/world; it was a lot and the noise in my head was keeping me awake. That said actually sleeping, through the night and like a teenager (often well into the morning) was some of the most luxurious “rest” I’ve had in a long time. I was asleep, dreaming (hello my old friends), and not waking up. The noise, worries, stress, and questions evaporated for a while, and if you’ve been keeping up with what we know about the importance of quality sleep, doing my body, soul, and mind a lot of good. Sleeping in Maine, at home in Simsbury, at our home in New York State, and even on the road to and from Indiana was amazing.
That sleep in turn led to something really revolutionary. With those other concerns gone, dreams back again and consistent sleep happening, I discovered that it was easier to focus on the thing right in front of me. We’ve all probably heard, read about, or even tried to practice what is generally called mindfulness but when you’re well-rested it’s a lot easier to pull off. The biggest takeaway for me over the last six weeks was how important it was to be in the moment, totally present and focused on the thing in front of me. It really doesn’t matter if it was time with Erin, my kids, the dogs, fishing, going to Indiana, or reading a book on the couch; being present and attentive was fantastic. There are so many things in the world vying for our attention and the phones in our pockets are some of the worst, but truly it’s not limited to that because a ringing phone must be answered (really?) and the list of things to do is endless. But if we can let go of some of those feelings, then I think we can all find greater joy in what we’re doing right now and maybe even do a better job with whatever task needs to get done; I sure know I did. I was a better husband, dad, and Gene than I have been in quite some time.
I am certain that Jesus felt something like the above and there were moments when he did try to get away, even for a while, so he could return rested and able to focus on the truly important things (like the people who needed help from him). I know how busy many of you are, but what if you could also sleep well at night and focus on keeping the first things first? What would that look like? I bet it would be great and maybe even good enough to write up for “what I did on my summer vacation.”
OTJ,
PG
*Thanks Eminem.