A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: שַׁבָּת Šabat (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin sabbaticus; Greek: sabbatikos σαββατικός) is a rest or break from work; “an extended period of time intentionally spent on something that’s not your routine job.”1
Hello from Birmingham, England where we are in the first weeks of our sabbatical. We share this because we need your prayer support during this time as much as ever. We are not on vacation, nor on holiday. We are definitely not retired from work nor are we leaving the ministry task of representing Jesus away from our birth culture. We are on sabbatical and seeking to use this time to intentionally prepare for continued service in the Kingdom of Jesus. We are working with a Spiritual Director/Coach who is helping us learn more about ourselves and about the Lord. Being away from Macau means being away from our comfort zone. It means being in a new environment, a different context. We have stepped off the merry-go-round of our work life to catch our breath, regain our balance, and reorient ourselves. We hope this translates into a new perspective and improved awareness of our location in the Kingdom. We want to hear from the Lord and discern more clearly His will for our lives. Here are a few ways you can support us in prayer:
Wisdom for ordering our time. It would be easy for the days to slip away since our calendar is intentionally full of unstructured time.
Courage to say no. Already opportunities for serving, for working, for getting back on the merry-go-round have come knocking on our door.
Eyes to See and Ears to Hear. This time comes to us as an invitation from the Lord, to know Him better. We must slow down if we are to see and hear Him.
In the introduction to her book “Invitation to Solitude and Silence” this quote by Ruth Haley Barton helps us understand what sabbatical can be: [sabbatical] “is an invitation to a journey, a quest really, for something we have been longing for all our lives. Unlike a trip designed to get us somewhere as efficiently as possible, a quest requires us to leave familiar dwelling places for strange lands we cannot yet envision, without knowing when we will return. This journey requires a willingness to say goodbye to life as we know it because our heart is longing for something more.”
We long for more of Jesus. Thank you for praying with us as we seek more of Jesus.
1 Schabram, Kira; Bloom, Matt; Didonna, Dj (4 November 2022). "Recover, Explore, Practice: The Transformative Potential of Sabbaticals". Academy of Management Discoveries: amd.2021.0100. doi:10.5465/amd.2021.0100. ISSN 2168-1007. S2CID 253358782.
Local street art in our area of Birmingham