I’m fresh back from a six-week sabbatical. 👋

Just before it began, a spiritual director recommended I make and hang a sign in my space that reads:

THIS DOES NOT HAVE TO BE MEANINGFUL

I laughed and exhaled a sigh of surrender. It was just what I needed to hear.

Note that she used the word meaningful, not intentional.

Setting intentions is different from demanding meaning. She liberated me from the latter — from the pressure of taking myself too seriously and expecting total transformation in six weeks (or less!). Instead, the invitation was to set open-handed intentions to rest and play and delight in God, who may or may not reveal meaning later. 

Some organic farmers follow the ancient Jewish practice of letting soil rest, or lie fallow, for a season. One way to do this is cover cropping, the process of planting a crop with little or no yield to restore the soil’s nutrients and reduce pests. 

Cover cropping requires intentionality, yet it makes no demands for produce. It simply makes room for replenishment and the possibility of later fruitfulness.

Back in April, I wrote about how my beloved guitar had formed a sizable crack due to years of dehydration. I sent it to Steve, a craftsman who repairs guitars, and requested that he fix it by a specific date. Steve said it didn’t work that way. The crack didn’t form overnight; it wouldn’t rehydrate overnight. 

The guitar recently returned from the shop after three months. It sounds wonderful, and the scar from the crack is less noticeable than expected. I asked Steve how long the repair would last. 

“The repair will hold up for as long as you keep the guitar adequately hydrated during the dry times of the year. The crack will ALWAYS want to open back up if the guitar loses moisture, and even a perfectly repaired crack will open back up if the guitar becomes dehydrated again. So, as before the crack occurred, it is important (and even more so) to maintain proper moisture content.”

That’ll preach, Steve.

So, Lord, teach us rhythms of rest and rehydration, that we may enjoy you, be renewed, and resound with joy.