Returning from Paradise

I’m sad this morning, in a bitter-sweet happy-sad kind of way. Yesterday Karen and I spend the day at Roche Harbor on San Juan Island which truly is, contrary to Walt Disney’s claim to the title, the happiest place on earth. The combination of the golden sunshine on red barked madrone, the graceful harbor with sailboats rocking in crystal clear water and the general fairyland quality make this place an unforgettable getaway. Every time we step onto the ferry at Anacortes and the ship stirs its engine to push away from the dock, we feel the cares of the world just slipping away. As I write, we’re on the ferry heading home and trying to cling to the feeling as long as we can.

What is it that makes the “San Juan feeling” so enriching? I’m sure that a huge part of it is that fact that it is nearly a complete retreat from the pressures of the every day. I say nearly, because the ubiquitous cell phone service still kept us in contact with the mainland. But cell phones can be turned off and, except for extensive texting on the ferry, I was able to keep myself largely free from work stress. It reminded me of just how seldom I discipline myself to truly disengage from the pressures.

One of the most delightful phrases in the Song of Songs is “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.” There is a deep longing and need in each one of us to “come away.” Lovers know that… and we, as the beloved bride of Christ, ought to know that, too. But typically in church work, we don’t focus on that need. We’re activistic (which is good and appropriate when practiced in measure) but too seldom contemplative. We’re often Martha, too seldom Mary.

Yesterday God renewed a dream in Karen’s and my heart – a dream that began six years ago as we were thinking about our calling and purpose as a couple. We feel that part of what God created us for is to help others to answer God’s invitation to “come away.” Somehow we sense that a cabin at Roche Harbor that we would build with the help of friends on a lot right near the resort is a part of that calling. We don’t know exactly how that all looks yet. Or more accurately, we don’t know if the pictures we have in our heads are the same pictures that God has for us. But over the years we have learned that reoccurring dreams are very often God-inspired dreams. So this is a dream we’re going to hold onto. And one we invite our friends to pray with us about.

In the meantime, we’re going to try to pay more attention to his invitation to “come away.” He’s probably speaking it to us more often than we’re hearing it.