Slowing

An eternity is like a day to You
Merely a watch in a long night

Each day seems an eternity to me
This watch being all I know

Meet me in the middle?
Eternity can stretch as it likes in all directions

Present; I meet You the only place I can
Presence; You are the only place I am

Here in eternity we still live day by day
Watching together for the dawn

©2025 Jacqueline Tisthammer. All rights reserved. 

“Slow your roll” was the message of a cute toddler shirt my oldest son once received from his uncle. It featured a cartoon sloth on a segway. All the kids outgrew it, and now I’m wondering if they’ve somehow handed it down to me!

Sabbatical began with setting aside my planned schedule to make space for family in the summer months. I neglected to plan for this necessity, but it has been a good space overall. The song Manna by Chris Rensema became my anthem for engaging ‘mundane’ family life this summer. These lyrics were good for my soul and helped me be present:

“Even when I’ve lost my taste for manna
It comes from heaven all the same, every day
Whether or not I recognize the miracle hidden in the mundane,
Oh the bread of heaven’s offered either way.”

As sabbatical started, I also strained my legs in some still-mysterious way, and now I find myself unable to walk around the block, much less train for the local pilgrimage I’m hoping to walk in October.

“Slow your roll” feels like an appropriate slogan for the last six weeks.

God’s invitation to presence means that an open hand is just as crucial as a plan. Some seasons are for long strides, some for hobbling along, and we don’t always know which season is approaching! Even when we hobble for what feels like an eternity, we are in the right place, the only place, to encounter God. Jesus is not around the bend somewhere calling for us to hurry up, he pitches his tent here in our present.

My afternoon prayer app included Psalm 147:10-11 recently; I chuckled and felt seen at the same time. My hopes for sabbatical are not in my plan, but in the presence of my Lord.

His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
    nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;
the Lord delights in those who fear him,
    who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Photo by Javier Mazzeo on Unsplash

Catch up on Sabbatical Reflection #2: Stillness

Continue with Sabbatical Reflection #4: Reality