Break's Over

Roberts Wesleyan students have been on spring break. At least the undergraduates. Many of the Adult Education programs and graduate programs continue on without break. They are the ones who have requested that the library stay open more hours. They juggle family, full time job, classes and studying. If they miss an opportunity to write a paper or do their research, it has a huge impact for them.

I know how difficult it can be to do a graduate degree while working and raising a family. Been there, done that. I was fortunate enough to work in a library and had a key for access when I needed that precious last minute worktime.

Of course, you can do a lot of your research online these days, but not everything. And sometimes you just need that quiet space in which to concentrate on the paper at hand and filter out the home distractions (piles of laundry and dirty dishes, kids crying, TVs blaring. . .)

Quiet is a commodity our culture little appreciates, perhaps because we encounter it so rarely. Our pastor has been encouraging us to move at a sacred and slow pace during Lent. Its not easy to do! You have to work at putting those moments into your schedule and into your day. Pause when you are headed from your car to your office and just stand a few minutes, listening.

Its an old saw, I know, but you deserve a break today. In fact, you need one. So find a way to just relax and breathe. Don't be hard on yourself about not doing something. Being quiet *is* important. Our culture gave up that family practice of sitting on the porch at night after dinner and the dishes were done, just being together, greeting neighbors, watching the kids. We have not replaced it with any healthy habits of stillness. Perhaps we should.