Much to the amusement of my church I recently went camping for a few days with the family. Though I admit it is probably more accurate to say glamping. This is the luxury form of camping, a growing trend among people like me. We are the self-confessed wimps who when it comes to staying outside for prolonged lengths of time choose to have a little bit of luxury to make the ordeal just that little bit more manageable. Well, what do expect from a West Londoner living in East Anglia?
So after searching the internet from the comfort of our solid bricks and mortar home we found ourselves a yurt, a Mongolian-style tent on a camp site near Southwold. This had a double bed in it, along with decking and chairs to allow you to watch the big Suffolk sky sunsets on those hot barmy Summer evenings. Although, in our case it was more of a case of snatching the sun while we could before dashing for cover as the next rain shower suddenly appeared.
Still the kids loved it and, in truth, I did too.
After having the coldest winter for 30 odd years I guess many of us are ready for some kind of break. We can feel the tension building, can’t we? For those of us with children we find ourselves running around all over the place. The end of the school term means numerous discos, concerts, class days out, transfer days etc. It is fast and furious and certainly not for the faint-hearted.
Now it has to be said that stress is a funny thing. Often we can fail to recognise it until our body eventually starts to kick up a fuss by becoming sick and tired, and we feel generally low in spirits.
Paul the apostle knew a thing or two about camping. In fact, we read in the Bible that he actually made tents. In biblical times there were people who lived in tents all year round. (Something I personally find hard to comprehend but, hey!) These tents were far from holiday camps, they were places where families were brought up and work was done.
For Paul he saw the similarities between a precarious life living in a tent and the human body. Like canvas he described our bodies as temporary things. In other words they have a limited shelf life and are not designed to last forever. However, as he goes on to say, the soul is. We can look forward to an eternity with Christ
Meanwhile, we have to look after our bodies. Paul wrote to one young 1st century church that while we are in our tents, our bodies, we will groan and be burdened with the strain of life and all its daily challenges.
Therefore, it is important that we all listen to our bodies and take care of the fabric – including the mind and spirit. We must learn to take time out and properly rest.
After all, we are created to rest. In the Bible’s very first book, Genesis we read that God rested after creating the world. Was it that God was exhausted? I doubt it. It is more likely it was to reflect on his work at creation and take pleasure from it.
We might feel we desperately need a break, we might not, but one thing is for sure it is good to take a break from the routine and reflect on our work too. It’s a good discipline to lean back and enjoy the fruits of our labour.
This summer I hope and pray your tent will feel better for a bit of time out. If you’re not going away, maybe plan for some local days out somewhere.
Meanwhile, just to let you know that our church does not meet formally in August as are resting our leaders and Sunday Support teams. However, you are welcome to join us for one of our summer socials. See our website for details. We start Sunday services again on 4 September at the Delphi Centre. All welcome.
ASD
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