THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 16, 1994 TAG: 9407160053
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E4 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Issues of Faith
SOURCE: Betsy Mathews Wright
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
I'VE RECENTLY been on vacation.
Well, sort of.
It hasn't been a real vacation. You know. The kind where you sit on the beach for hours and watch the waves roll in. Nevertheless, I've recently gotten some quality couch-potato time.
I needed this because the last year has been so hectic and so stressful (both good and bad stress!) that I'd gotten to the point where I couldn't hear myself think, much less hear God speaking to my heart.
I needed not only physical rest, but a real deep-down spiritual renewal.
This week, after about a month of working part-time in low gear, I went back to work full speed. Now comes my problem.
I'm tired already!
Why is it that every time I get spiritually recharged, I come back so strong, so full of new ideas, so full of bursting energy, that within a few days, I'm thinking: ``Gee, I need a break''?
My Grandma Charles has a favorite saying: ``No rest for the weary.''
I think I now know what she means.
In writing this week's column on spiritual renewal, I turned to the Scriptures for insight. My study Bible referred me to the story of Abram.
About 4,000 years ago, give or take a century, Abram (who was later renamed Abraham) was commanded by God to leave his home and set out for an unknown land.
God promised to make Abraham the father of a great nation, then led him through the country of Canaan. Genesis 12:6 tells that when Abram got to a big oak tree near the Hill of Moreh - in Christ's day, the country would be Galilee and the hill would be near the Sea of Galilee - he stopped to set up camp.
The very next verse says: ``Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, `To your descendants I will give this land,' And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.''
When I quickly read those two verses, I assumed that Abram knew he had reached his destination. I assumed that God had whispered to Abram, ``Whoa, buddy, this is the place!''
But that's not what it says. It says he stopped and made camp first, and then the Lord appeared to him with his ``this-is-it'' proclamation.
My point is this: It's mighty hard to hear God when you're on the run.
You might be doing God's work. . . . You might be following God's lead . . first have to stop, take a break, even rest.
That's a tough lesson for people like me who are addicted to being busy.
But the lesson's not over yet. The story yields another insight into the issue of spiritual renewal. Take a gander at what happened to Abram after he stopped, heard God and then honored the Lord with a newly built altar and some genuine worship.
God sent Abram on his way. You can almost hear God whispering in his ear: ``Keep going, buddy. On to Egypt. You're not done yet.''
I think I know how Abraham must have felt. It's an easy lesson to understand, but a tough one to live.
Enjoy the rest while you have it. Rest leads to renewal. And renewal leads to a fresh spirit. And a fresh spirit leads to more work . . .
Gee, isn't this where I began?
Columnist's Note: It seems that a few readers read my column in April about getting married, but noticed that my name hadn't changed in the newspaper. Some actually decided that my marriage must be on the rocks. Not so!
I've changed my name in what I call ``real life,'' but have kept Betsy Mathews Wright for the column.
What's my new name? I'll never tell. Only my friends and family are privy to that one . . . Hey, it's nice having a little privacy for a change! MEMO: Every other week, Betsy Mathews Wright publishes responses to her
opinion column. Send responses to Issues of Faith, The Virginian-Pilot,
150 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510; call (804) 446-2273; FAX
(804) 436-2798; or send e-mail to bmw(AT)infi.net. Deadline is Tuesday
before publication. Must include name, city and phone number. by CNB