Life comes at us. We have jobs to work, kids to chauffer, lawns to mow, meetings to attend, laundry to do, meals to prepare, crises to handle, appointments to keep, and obligations to fulfill. If your life looks like mine, you’ll have lots of Have To’s and not enough Get To’s.
It's unhealthy having too many Have To’s, but the demands of daily living can often leave us feeling guilty about leaving some of those duties undone and escaping to a personal refuge for a short spell.
But taking a break even when the workload is full of Have To’s is in tune with what Jesus did. We see a number of instances where Jesus boards a boat and tries to sail to the other side of the lake to escape the crowds for a spell. Other times he would travel to Gentile areas looking for a place where the presence a Jewish prophet would elicit little more than a yawn. And Jesus took these breaks while there were still a load of Have To’s on his agenda.
I am now well into the second half of life, and I am still surrounded by Have To’s. That will never end. But it’s well to remember that much of our joy in life comes from the Get To’s. Some of those Have To’s become Get To’s, and it’s wonderful when they do, but it’s good mental health to eat dessert first every now and then. Drop the vacuum cleaner while dust remains and opt for a walk in the park. Leave the dishes in the sink for a few hours and go the movies. Take a break. The world will keep spinning while you're away.
References:
John 6:16-22
Mark 7:24
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