“Holy Leisure: Wasting Time with God”
by Rev. Dr. Carla A. Romarate-Knipel
“He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.” – Psalm 23:2
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky is by no means a waste of time.” – John Lubbock, The Use of Life
As I get older, I find myself reminiscing what I did as a child, especially in summer. In the Philippines, this would be from March through May. It was the “dry” season, but the humidity made it feel anything but dry. Ice cream vendors and watermelon field owners with the “eat all you can, but pay if you bring one home” offer to thirsty customers made good business. Back then, there were not a lot of amusement parks or resorts. Of whatever was available, our family could not afford. The vacations we took were trips to visit our grandparents and relatives. My earliest recollection of these trips was when I was five years old.
We went to see our Lolo (‘grandfather”) and Lola (“grandmother”) in another island. They were my mother’s parents who were recently retired and lived in a wooden house with a porch overlooking the main street. From the porch you could see people walk by and occasionally trucks and cars. It was a small town and had one gas station and a general store next to it. I cannot recall that there were adults who accompanied us in our trips to the gas station or the store. Nor do I remember having a grown-up go with us on our adventures to the local bakery where we got free cookies. And it baffles me now to think that the three of us girls were allowed to go to the woods by ourselves. In the middle of the woods was a small waterfalls. The cascading water flowed into a pool that was surrounded by bushes, plants and smaller trees with vines that reminded me of Jungle book and Tarzan.
In one of our family photo albums, there’s a 3 x 5 inches black and white photograph of my sisters wearing our summer shorts and blouses made by my mother from quilt blocks sent from America in White Cross boxes. In the picture I was standing looking at my sisters picking pebbles on the sandy soil near the woods. These memories that flood my mind bring smiles to my face. I marvel at how Jesus, the Good Shepherd and a whole community (not just my grandparents) watched over us the whole time we were roaming around town. It is a summer memory that warms my heart and encourages me to get in touch with my inner child. That child of many summers long ago who learned to enjoy holy leisure with God. Many times my sisters and I were just doing nothing, wasting time together, not fully aware that God was with us the whole time. When we attended church services, Sunday School classes, Vacation Bible School and camps, we were introduced in a deeper way to Jesus, who invited us to follow him as disciples. This invitation began with coming to Jesus to find rest for our souls (Matthew 11:28).
We are halfway through summer and I realize how busy I had become. I am not sure that I have entered into holy leisure with God. Not in my staycation nor in the little sabbaths that open up when severe thunderstorms leave me and many people stranded in our homes. I always try to find something to do – with my hands, my feet, my eyes, my ears and my mind. There was one afternoon, though, that I decided to stop what I was doing and sit down under the maple tree. I could feel the breezes and hear the occasional bird song. It was not very hot and the maple leaves offered me a green canopy to shelter under. What a wonderful moment to “waste” time with God. For a few minutes I was not weighed down with worries or distracted by the many noises of the world. There I was just like when I was a child gazing at the waterfalls in awe as the water gently flowed into the pool. I was wasting time with God. After a while, I picked up a book and began to read, content to be transported to another place and time.
The Bible and many books, podcasts and online articles remind us how important it is to make time to do nothing, that wasting time is not wasted time, and that as disciples of Jesus, to enjoy holy leisure with God is as important as serving God with the work entrusted to us. These are moments when we are not only nourished and restored, but ushered into the presence of God with no other reason but to enjoy each other’s presence. For all those who are finding the joy of incorporating these sacred pauses into the rhythms of their lives – may you continue on and be blessed. For those like me who struggle to make time for holy leisure with God, may we take Jesus’ invitation to rest in Him, to heart; and make time to be with Him in child-like faith.
May the rest of summer open up opportunities for each one of us and our church family to delight in God’s presence and be blessed to find rest for our souls in between the work that we continue to do as God’s servants and members of the worldwide Body of Christ assigned to be Jesus’ hands and feet here in Woodbury, New Jersey and beyond. Amen.
God’s peace and joy be with you!
Pastor Carla
