Friday Five: Renewal

In my office the other day, two church members asked about the boat on my table. I told them it was a gift from a seminary classmate, a reminder of the work and teaching of our professor, Kirk Jones, author of Rest in the Storm: Self-Care Strategies for Clergy and other Caregivers. He always reminded us that Jesus went to the back of the boat and took a nap.

Not surprisingly, I could not find an image of Jesus resting. Preaching from the boat, yes. Calming the storm, yes. Walking on water? Oh, my, yes! But no one seems to want to picture Jesus taking his rest.

In this week that looks unlikely to hold a complete day off, I am pondering renewal. List four ways you like to relax or give yourself a break. Then name a fifth, something you've never been able to do, a self-care dream.

1. Music. There was an awesome piece of woodcarving on the back wall of the performance hall when I was a music major at the University of Nebraska. It read something like this: "Of all the arts, only music has the capacity to calm the human soul." I wish it were a more direct quote, but I can't find it anywhere. Be that as it may, I relax and even meditate to music. I have loved music of all kinds for as long as I can remember: Statler Brothers records on my parents' huge console stereo, All-State Honor Band in high school, David Maslanka's Symphony No. 4 for Wind Ensemble in college, the great hymns of my Lutheran tradition, my new Ovation guitar, my daughter dancing to the sound of a Storyhill concert when she was still in the womb. Nothing touches my soul like music: it reminds me of the old quote attributed to Martin Luther: "Those who sing pray twice."

2. Baking. I've been known to retreat to our kitchen on Friday afternoons to bake while I write my sermon. Of course, I'm a cheater: I mix in a breadmachine. But the feel of good dough and the smell of bread baking & cooling makes me feel as though I'm home and all is well.

3. Running. This is a new one in my life - I've been running for just over six years now. I started running seriously while I was going through a really rough time; I lost a lot of weight and a lot of my friends & family were concerned. But I discovered that losing myself in the rhythm of a run brings rewards far beyond physical fitness (though that is important, of course). When I run I focus on breathing, pace and posture, removing myself from the distractions that surround me, and I find that I gain a perspective on my surroundings that I often lose when separated by a car window.

4. Reading. When I was a first-grade student, my teacher told my parents that I was her first student who needed to read less and work on assignments more. I've always been a reader and always will be, and genre doesn't matter: good writing does. Right now I'm reading The Once And Future King by T.H. White and loving it all over again - next I'll be venturing into The Kite Runner and who knows after that?

5. A Dream Renewal. This is so easy right now it's laughable: I am renewed by cuddling with our five-day-old daughter. Sorry for the sap, but I've waited 32 years to be a Daddy, and even with no sleep and changing diapers I wouldn't give it up for anything.