There was barely a sound. Outside, the trees were still, with not a bird or squirrel in sight; even the road was empty.
Only the faint hum of the freezer, and the rhythmic tick of a clock, disturbed the silence. Monday had dawned; overcast, quiet, still. For the moment, sipping our morning tea, we sensed that the Rectory was at rest and so, it appeared, was the world around us.
The question of the morning was ‘Today is a bank holiday, a day off, how shall we spend it?’ There is much to do, there is always much to do.
Yet,while a change is reputed to be as good as a rest; a holiday is not a holiday if we throw ourselves into things that ‘need’ doing, rather than things we want to do. Decision one, stay at home.
As the day progressed, the grass was cut, borders tidied, odd jobs jobbed. All this at our, relaxed, pace, and the result …..?
As evening fell,we looked back through the day and saw not for the first time, just how much can be achieved when we stop rushing to achieve anything.
There is, of course, much to do, but doing is not an end in itself. After 6 days busily creating, God took a day off, and mandated that we do the same. In our busy lives, so many of us fear inactivity. Stillness is mistaken for idleness, while busyness becomes a virtue, an end in itself. Could it be that such activity conceals a fear that in and of ourselves we lack value; that we are only what we do? Could it be that we have forgotten an important truth; God loves us as we are, not as we do?
There’s a cushion in my study which says ‘time you enjoy wasting, is not wasted time’. Tomorrow is another day. Now, the air is still, the light fades and once more the rhythmic ticking of the clock alone marks time – not wasted, just enjoyed.
Rev’d Philip May Day
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