Sleepy

I have found myself extremely tired. While easy to blame it on jet-lag, I think it is something more.

Have you had times (days or even weeks) when you have simply struggled staying awake? On this trip to Tanzania I’ve been sleeping a lot. As the trip has worn on, I am in the routine and have conquered my jet-lag, but I still feel a need to nap once or even twice a day. Yes, the pace is hectic. Sure, the heat is tough (weird to your ears, I know). Of course, the surroundings are foreign. But I just keep getting the sense that something else is at play.

Today we had about a four-hour drive to the edge of the Ngorogoro Crater (we safari there tomorrow) and during each leg of the drive I found myself dozing. And these were bumpy roads that are not at all conducive for sleeping!

A lesson Kent Carlson taught me when he was leading our Council and Staff Retreat is a quote from his mentor, the late and great theologian Dallas Willard. Dallas said, “the single greatest spiritual obstacle we need to overcome is being too busy.” Kent added the question, “What if being in a hurry was a sin?” Bouncing over dusty roads half a world away from Lincoln, I’m confronted with my own sin.

So, I will seek to explore, soon within myself and eventually within our entire Sheridan community, what “sabbath” means. Kathy Paisley, our Associate in Ministry and Director of Ministries, has done extensive research on sabbath and has sought to apply these principles to her life.

One of the hidden beauties of a distant mission experience is that it helps us to see ourselves for who we are. In this culture, which is so much more relaxed, my busy-ness seems over inflated and spiritually shallow. The depth of my brothers and sisters here shine a light of contrast upon me.

There is a bumper-sticker inside one of the safari trucks that reads: “This is Africa, there is no hurry.” And if hurry is a sin, they’re far better off than me…

Pastor Greg Bouvier