Freedom

It turns out that being sick is actually kind of liberating. When we were sick last week, we let all kinds of important things slide. We had no choice in the matter- we just couldn't do them. And lo and behold, the world did not end. There was even a good crowd in worship on Sunday. In fact, if I miss a week of work due to sickness or vacation worship attendance is always high. My wife Beth jokes that if I just stopped working altogether, The River would be bursting at the seams. She just might be right.

When I'm well, I work, and I get focused on me doing the work. But it is not me doing the work. God is the one building The River. That's true of everything in life. God has done it all. Family, friends, hobbies, all of it comes from God. God makes it all happen. I only get stressed when I either forget that and try to do it myself, or when I get focused on the minutiae of daily life.

I remember when a buddy of mine told me about the prayer Pope John XXIII prayed every night. I don't know if it's true or just an urban legend, but according to my buddy every night John XXIII would end his prayers with "Lord, it's your church. I'm going to bed."

Now that I'm out of bed, I'm trying to remember that. To still work hard, but to know that it's not up to me. It's God's church, and God is at work, whether I'm in bed or not.