Prairie Pastoral

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

  • Home
  • Bio
  • Books I’m Reading
  • Good Stuff

June 6, 2022 | 2 Comments

My supposed-to sabbatical (Part One)

It’s Monday of the second full week of my supposed-to sabbatical. I was supposed to be in Ventura, CA, on the beach, for the month of June during my sabbatical. I was supposed to be walking dunes and eating at quaint cafes before taking long naps in the afternoon. I was supposed to be visiting with friends and colleagues. I was supposed to be reading and writing, free of the ordinary concerns of home and church.

But, several pulmonary embolisms later, my doctors have advised me that travel is questionable and staying by myself (however charming the accommodations) is out of the question. So, I’m trying to take sabbatical time at home. Ha! It turns out that my supposed-to sabbatical involves a whole lot of housework, because—you know—I’m home, so there are seven loads of laundry, and meals to cook, and dishes to be loaded and unloaded, and groceries to be purchased, and…well, that’s the idea.

On the bright side, I am reading and doing some writing. The naps—given my health scare—are non-negotiable, and I bribed my daughter to go with me to Vogel Canyon for a long-ish walk. I baked a sponge cake for the Queen’s jubilee (see below). I read a novel, cover to cover.

Is it the sabbatical I was supposed to be having? No, not even close.

Still, I keep going back to the second, largely neglected, half of Niebuhr’s famous prayer:

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it.
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His will.
That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with Him forever in the next (here)

No, this is not the sabbatical I was supposed to be having, but is it good enough? Probably, reasonably, yes.

Here’s the spongecake:

Discipleship, Expectation, Prayer Tagged: expectation, laundry, sabbatical

Comments

  1. Terry says

    June 8, 2022 at 4:05 pm

    I have been so curious about God’s timing with your health issues. I am praying you can allow yourself to let go of things and restore, however you and the Lord see the way that should happen. Live and blessings!

    Reply
    • MJ Romano says

      June 13, 2022 at 8:25 am

      Thank you, Terry. I’m confident that there’s something here God wants me to learn, but right now I’m struggling hard with disappointment. I even got called for jury duty this week. Ugh. Not as planned. I covet your prayers, truly. ~MJ

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


This is the day that
the Lord has made;
let us rejoice
and be glad in it.

– Psalm 118:24
Rev. Dr. MJ Romano

Categories

  • Adoption
  • Advent
  • Angels
  • Bible
  • Book of Hebrews
  • Christmas
  • Church
  • Confession
  • Conscience
  • Courage
  • Criticism
  • Death
  • Deception
  • Discipleship
  • Evangelism
  • Expectation
  • Family
  • Fear
  • Frustration
  • God
  • Gospel of John
  • Gospel of Luke
  • Gratitude
  • Hiking
  • Holy Week
  • Hope
  • Jesus Christ
  • Leadership
  • Legacy
  • Lent
  • Marriage
  • Old Testament
  • Parenting
  • Patience
  • Perseverance
  • Praise
  • Prayer
  • Predestination
  • Prophet Isaiah
  • Psalms
  • Racism
  • Remembrance
  • Repentance
  • Rest
  • Sacraments
  • Science
  • Sin
  • Small town
  • Social media
  • Spiritual maturity
  • Suffering
  • Teenagers
  • Time
  • Trust
  • Truth
  • Uncategorized

Connect with MJ

Subscribe to Pastor MJ's Blog

Stay up-to-date with the latest posts delivered right to your inbox.

Join 402 other subscribers

Archives

Bible Verse of the Day

For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
Romans 5:19
DailyVerses.net
LaJunta Presbyterian Church

Copyright © 2023 Rev. Dr. MJ Romano · Site design and setup by The Design Diva · Log in