We do need the times of the ‘safety of the shore’. But… we will need to venture forth after some time in our safe or sanctuary place. When you are in your ‘safety’ place/time, what are you doing? Vegetating? Investigating (if so, what)? ‘Relaxing’? Beginning to see all that’s on your plate (and what to do about them)? How do you ‘use’ your safety time? And, typically, how long is it?
There is nothing wrong with safety times. In fact, I would suggest that everyone needs them and needs to take the time for them. But, we do the doing! ‘Safety’ rarely simply drops into our laps. We lead such hectic lives… marked with rushing, demands, deadlines – in a word: stress, a plate overflowing with do’s, don’ts, need to’s, have to’s, etc. However, how much joy and peace also permeates your life? Or is that lost in all of your living? WHAT are you willing to do to enhance and/or extract all of what you can from both types of ‘your times’?
TAKE THE TIME! We all need these times of refreshing and renewal in order to be fully engaged in what is happening in our lives – we all need our ‘safety of the shore’ times. I would argue that it is these times that allows us to be and do all that is asked of us to the best of our ability when we are refreshed and re-equipped. You have no discretionary time? If so, then you have other decisions to make. To function at your full capacity you need to have the times of clarity which only come when you take your ‘safety’ times. Otherwise you never reach the point of operating at your best.
To do our best… to be our best – we need times of ‘safety’ in order to allow our lives to become all that it can be. Safety needs to be marked with peace … and planning. And our daily living needs to be less pressured and more intentional so we do ‘make the most of our time’. It is NOT easy, but it is do-able. Remember that the Lord invited us to cast ALL of our cares on Him and take up His yoke (1Peter 5:7 – Psalms 55:22, Matthew 11:29).
