It was the worst job, and didn’t even last a year. But it helped us buy our first house, so not all was lost. Right before Brett and I were married, my temp job led to a processing job at a large mortgage company. The mortgage boom of the early 2000’s in the Chicago suburbs lent itself to long hours of monotonous work and massive bonus paychecks. I was a post-closer, which meant I spent hours each day meticulously combing through files in search of missing documents.
I shared an office space with 5 other women and they were rowdy, gossipy, brusque, and each of them smoked like chimneys. Several times a day, they would align their schedules for a group pause. A step out the back door. A confluence of gossip. A lighting of cigarettes. I’ve never smoked. But I envied their excuse to escape for a handful of minutes. Laura, Jan, Amy, Deb, and Marge were part of a secret club and I was sad to miss out on their moments away. Minus the gossip and tobacco.
Just this morning, a friend joked about the potential benefits to periodic smoke breaks throughout the day. An excuse to pause, to step out back for a moment, to change the scenery, and breath in for a bit. Maybe without the cigarette and it’s gross side-effects. And I wondered, what’s keeping us from taking some non-smoke breaks throughout our days? Why can’t this be a thing?
The Gospels swell with stories of Jesus’ life and ministry…so many encounters with hurting people, miraculous works, stories told, lessons taught. But if you look closely, we also see a pattern of retreat and rest following Jesus through his ministry.
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.
Mark 1:35
But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.
Luke 5:16
There are more. Read through the gospels and take notice of the times when Jesus takes a break. It was a significant pattern of his ministry. He is our best example of engagement, service, selfless love, willing ministry, being present with hurting people. And he also needed some time away. A moment of quiet now and then. A retreat. A reconnection with his source.
So today, maybe we could allow ourselves some non-smoke breaks. Step out the back door for a pause with Jesus and a breath of fresh air. Allow the hustle to be interrupted. Set aside a few minutes for reconnection to our source. And then get back to work.
Kate
Thoughts from The Yellow House 