A sabbatical is not a vacation. It is a different kind of work - it is a directed time of refreshment and restoration. It is a time for drawing closer and listening more carefully, with the intent of deeper intimacy with God. It can involve reading, writing, and wrestling in prayer - especially wrestling with the tendency to be busy, wrestling to let go, to jump off the performance-go-round, and relax.
David Alves
These past weeks have been a real blessing and a joy as I have had precious opportunities to seek God through pilgrimage, retreat, and connection and reconnection with people and places alongside reading and creativity. But as I now approach the final week of my sabbatical I'm looking forward to going to Glasshampton Monastery for a final few days of silent retreat. The plan is to use this time to reflect on the sabbatical as a whole and what I sense God has been saying to me in response to the question: 'And now what...?' Which is the question that God laid on my heart for this sabbatical time both for myself personally and also for the YBC community.
My hope is that I will hear God clearly regarding the next steps for my own spiritual journey, and to bring my thinking together about where God is leading us as a community.
I'd appreciate your prayers for the week ahead and if you're reading this and are a part of the YBC family, whether or not you've done this already, maybe this week particularly you too can be seeking God's heart and asking the question: And now what...? What is it that God is calling us to do or lay down? What might God be asking us to get involved with or be a part of?
