In January 2012, I returned from a 30-day sabbatical and 1400 emails had accumulated on my computer. I deleted them all with the touch of a key – never reading one of them. It felt great!
2011 had been a tough year. The year was marked by the death of my father and my mother’s ravaging of dementia. And the difficulties continued. While working with a client, I unexpectedly found myself in the path of Hurricane Sandy. In the midst of the storm, I heard the Lord tell me to take a time of rest. I realized that the past year had been a lot like a hurricane. His gentle love and wisdom were guiding me.
After making the decision to take a break, I resolved not to read my email while on sabbatical and to delete it unread when I returned. It was important to communicate clearly to my clients that I would not be answering email or phone, nor would I be reading any email that came in while I was gone. In the past, I would review email while on vacation because I didn’t want to be overwhelmed by it later. I knew my myself well enough to know that if I didn’t make a commitment to deleting those emails unread, I would cheat! And cheating would have diminished the true rest I was seeking.
I returned from a truly restful sabbatical. The response from my clients was overwhelmingly positive when they realized I had actually deleted the unread emails. God gave me the courage and determination to choose real rest and it was a catalyst for others to do so as well. His gentle love and wisdom will give you the same courage and determination to choose true rest.
Job 11:18 Having hope will give you courage. You will be protected and will rest in safety.
Psalm 23:2-3 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength.
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