Comments on: Dunked Under

By: rev molly

rev molly — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:49:06 +0000

Amy! I just wandered over here to your blog with some of my glorious free time and free mind…I must have started sabbatical at just the same moment as you! June 7, midnight…so far so FABULOUS. I think I got some of the deep water out of the way before I actually started sabbatical–the ‘who am I if I’m not a minister’ anxiety and even depression.

I’ve taped to my fridge some long, lovely quotes from Rabbi Heschel’s The Sabbath, and, on the other side, these great words from Barbara Brown Taylor on what she calls ’sabbath sickness,’ which you allude to, to wit:

“Anyone who practices Sabbath for even an afternoon usually suffers a little spell of Sabbath sickness. Once you have finished the paper and the second pot of tea, you can start feeling a little jumpy, a little ready to get back to work. You can discover the true meaning of rationalization, which is what your mind does when it wants to do something that you have decided you will not do. Is yard work really work if you enjoy it? Is flipping through a mail-order catalog really shopping? Yes it is.

“If you decide to live on the fire that God has kindled inside of you instead of rushing out to find two sticks to rub together, then it does not take long for all kinds of feelings to come out of hiding. You can find yourself crying buckets of uncried tears over things you thought you had handled years ago. People you have loved and lost can show up with their ghostly lawn chairs, announcing that they have nowhere else they have to be all day. While you are talking with them, you may gradually become aware of an aching leg and look down to see a bruise on your thigh that you did not know you had. How many other collisions did you ignore in your rush from here to there?”

Hope that helps. I’m holding tight to that call to live on the fire that God has kindled within…

blessings to you!
Molly (one of your sabbatical grant colleagues, from Boston)

By: carol c.

carol c. — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 22:41:37 +0000

good thing you’re such a good swimmer!

By: Susan Sevier

Susan Sevier — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:36:00 +0000

Yes, you must do it alone, but not really. And oh, do I have empathy for where you are. My favorite reminder that it will end and there will be air (or light, or whatever), is St. John of the Cross, which I know you must know, but here it is anyway: http://www.karmel.at/ics/john/dn.html

You will find amazing peace soon, and with it, new wonders you could hardly imagine from the life you were living last week…

By: Elizabeth Hagan

Elizabeth Hagan — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:41:17 +0000

Your post makes me think of one of my favorites from Bonhoeffer- Life Together.

“LET HIM WHO CANNOT BE ALONE BEWARE OF COMMUNITY. He will only do harm to himself and to the community. . . LET HIM WHO IS NOT IN COMMUNITY BEWARE OF BEING ALONE. Into the community you were called, the call was not meant for you alone.”

Happy living into your new pace of life!