What’cha Doing?
Michelle and I just returned home from a several-day
stay at a B & B up in Door County as part of our ongoing celebration of our
45th wedding anniversary. It took until breakfast this morning for
our host to finally understand us.
She started right away the afternoon of our arrival,
wanting to know what we had planned to do with our time. If you’re unfamiliar with Door County, some
refer to it as Wisconsin’s Cape Cod or Martha’s Vineyard. Now, as one who was born and raised and
appreciates Wisconsin, I would turn that around and say that Cape Cod and
Martha’s Vineyard are Massachusetts’s Door County. It is safe to say that Door County is home to
much unique natural beauty, places to see and things to eat, and it is a magnet for tourists.
Michelle and I are only a 90-minute drive from home to
anywhere in Door County, so we visit it fairly often in all seasons. That is one of the reasons why we approach our
visits in a relaxed manner, while many of those who are trying to pack an
entire year or lifetime into a few days can be seen frantically racing from one
place, event or restaurant to another. We
especially enjoy the local theatre offerings, but one venue we knew wasn’t
having their opening night until the date we were heading home, and another was
offering a play that, while entertaining, is a repeat of one they offered
several years ago. With attending a play
off the table, we had decided before heading up that we’d focus on some casual
hiking at some of the lesser-known nature areas. One was new to us and the other is a
long-time favorite.
Our host gave up yesterday in suggesting places that
we “Had to go to”. We had been sharing
descriptions of the butterflies and wild flowers, including several orchid
varieties, that we had encountered far away from the crowds and all of the fuss
and noise and stress that goes with that.
This morning as she served us a delicious breakfast at a table outside
she said that she had noticed us the morning before relaxing and laughing and
sipping coffee for more than an hour after breakfast before we headed off for
our hikes. “I’m just more used to guests
who are trying to pack as much into their stay as possible. I think you two did it right.” We assured her that we understood her
position as a good and helpful host.
Truth be told though, I used to be quite clueless
about relaxing. Certainly, ever since my
college days, and certainly most of the years when our children were home and
growing, I felt a greater sense of urgency about spending my spare time trying
to be as busy as possible. Some of that
was the reality that work and my career ate up a lot of my time. Then as the children grew and developed their
own interests there was always a baseball game, or school event, or band practice
or performance. Even my vacation time,
which was supposed to be about relaxing, was spent trying to get as much “doing”
in a never-enough amount of time, as possible.
Even as my faith became more front and center, and I was eventually
ordained as a deacon, that just seemed to force a different priority, but not a
different approach to time.
Fortunately, God blessed me with enough time to
finally figure it out. Matthew Kelly
refers to it as “carefree timelessness”.
It is a sense of being content with just being with those you love, beginning
with God and then cascading through relationships of family, friends and those I
minister to. I no longer feel that I
have to pack ‘doing something’ into every possible moment. That no longer is how I define or value my
faith, my ministry, my family life, or my purpose. That doesn’t mean at all that I am stagnant. There is still much more to do than I have
time for. And that’s OK.
His Peace <><
Deacon Dan
Photo by eloy carrasco on Unsplash
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