What God has Taught me

I've had several ask me what God has taught me over the course of our sabbatical. I'm not prepared to share it all, as I'm still trying to learn it, I'll tell you if I have six months from now. Three things, though, come to mind as being significant lessons for me:

1. Rest ~ God made the Sabbath for man, not man for the Sabbath. He created Sabbath patterns and seasons. These were not designed to be super spiritual learning times, but times of rest. Don't overspiritualize these times, but don't miss their vital importance FOR our spiritual well-being. When the Sabbath was instituted, man's daily life was filled with the chores of life. Now, we seem to save all of the "non-work" (personal) related chores for our day off and so we never do rest.
2. God's Ministers/Pastors SHOULD be the most healthy people on the planet and yet they are among the most UNhealthy. We have God's Truth. We have God's pattern for life. And yet, somehow we think that we can be disobedient and live "above" this because we are called to be ministers. This isn't just physical health, but emotional, relational, patterns of work, drivenness, etc.
3. I am PART of God's plan (and that's vital) I am not ALL of God's plan ~ God often works in generations to accomplish His work. I so often get trapped into thinking that He's going to accomplish it all in my lifetime. This doesn't mean that I don't work hard, but it does mean that the "production" is up to Him and His timing and not me.