Like Leaving Summer Camp!

I always loved going to summer camp. Church conference and training events as an adult have been true highlights. Special events in my life that are filled with energy, creative ideas, great discussions, and being with friends are true highlights that make for incredible experiences. 

Every special event that extends through several days or heightened euphoric experiences are awesome! They are happy places! I even become emotional just reflecting on so many of these experiences! It is like just yesterday as I recall so many great spaces and places!

You too can relate! These experiences are mood-shaping and we often make special notes in our calendars or on social media just to share the experiences! 

Yet, with heavy high is an inevitable low! 

Yep, we all must settle in for the low after a high l, emotional experience. We have to plan for it! 

You might know it weekly. That is why we call it Mondays! We also know it after a celebrated event. We have to anticipate the low for each high. It is hard to go from the heights of a Mount Everest to the valley of dry bones. We resist it but it is going to happen!

If we do not allow for a rhythm of rest in our overly busy lives, illness becomes our Sabbath - our pneumonia, our cancer, our heart attack, our accidents create Sabbath for us.

Wayne Muller, Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives

As I write this article it is after a couple of sequential high points to result in one very lonely low. 

It is in the low that we can experience God in a personal and intimate way. Like Elijah after his great victory agains the prophets of Baal. Like Gideon or Jonah. Even in our time, like winning a difficult debate. Or coming up the victor of a tough fight. Even those “camp-like” experiences in our lives where we thought that it couldn’t get any better.

This past week I enjoyed a couple of victories. I attending the Global Leadership Conference and chatted with many great friends. Our weekend included a family celebration of the “in-person” Wedding ceremony of our son and his wife! Even into Sunday we visited with friends whom we care about. 

But, you guessed it, Monday arrived with a crash! Not just any Monday but a low that didn’t produce more dopamine or adrenalin because of being high on life and emotional experiences. Yup, I crashed! 

So, now what? Here are a few things I plan to do to ease back from the pain for withdrawal. 

1. Start the day early no matter how you feel.

2. Plan to ease back into normal life with a few tasks.

3. Rest but don’t stop doing things. Just do things more slowly and differently. 

4. Don’t isolate except into the prayerful contemplative attitude of fellowship with God.

5. Wake up your brain and make up your mind to remain active. Journal or read, pray or meet with a good friend one-on-one.

I find that as we anticipate the need to rest, we also should recognize the emotional need to decompress. It is okay to “take it easy” but don’t stop! 

Sabbath isn't about resting perfectly; it's about resting in the One who is perfect.

Shelly Miller, Rhythms of Rest: Finding the Spirit of Sabbath in a Busy World

My friend once said that if you are tempted to take the day off, take it half-off not fully off. In other words, build time in your schedule to have a Sabbath. I don’t mean a day to sleep in. I mean a time to dwell with God, the object of our worship and embrace the principles that govern your life. Eternal values are always best! It may be that you do things more slowly yet, never-the-less, be active even after celebrating those “camp-like” experiences. 

So, on this low Monday after the high, make the most of it! Enjoy your fellowship with God. Make the most of this time to regroup your thoughts. Remain focussed on what God has called you to. Remain active in eternal principles while listening for orders to advance the cause.