Vacation Eesh 2019 #thereset

(Take a deep breath. Close your eyes. Hit that reset button.) 

I am finally taking a full week's vacation from this wonderful life we call ministry. If you are like me, you know the feeling of trying to get "everything" done before leaving town. I feel like I deserve a medal or at least a gold star from heaven!

With some out-of-state down time with my son and the folks I love, I am realizing that I can use this vacation for what I like to call "The Reset." The Reset is the space I allow to evaluate the past three to six months and ask myself "Aisha, is this how you want to end your year at this rate, this pace, and with the current priorities you have set for yourself?" For me, the reset is a wake-up call to say, "Hold up, wait a minute...I am may NOT be living my life the way I have desired. I may NOT be living my life the way God intended. I may NOT be living my best life."  So, on this lovely quiet getaway, I am hitting that good old reset button and I have invited my son to join me. Perhaps you have a few resets of your own during the summer break.

Here are a few of ours:
1. Reset Family Calendar/School Assignments Schedule: My son and I had a great bougie breakfast as we made a list of things he did well this year and ways he could do better next year. I made a list of what I did well as a single mom to support him. I also listed ways I can be more of a support to him as he enters 8th grade. We talked about how we use technology in so many areas of our lives but we have failed to utilize any shared calendar to keep us on the same page. We had a great discussion about his need to be intentional about studying and his need to be transparent so that we can hold him accountable to utilize the mind that the Good Lord has given him.

2. Family Faith Formation - One of my biggest fears as a minister of the gospel who serves the larger church is to put all of my time and energy in the church and my child not know what I know about God, scripture, prayer, faith, and loving God with your whole heart, soul, and mind. Let me say this, my son (who has given me permission to share this story) is a SERIOUS prayer warrior. I have heard this kid pray from the heart with scripture interwoven in his intercessions to the Lord. And yet (turn to your neighbor and say "AND YET") my beloved son cannot recite one bit of scripture from memory. He can think critically and theologically at 13 years old. He can have ethical discussions on caring for the poor and loving our neighbors as Christ commands. Now, if you ask him to recite John 3:16, he is going to look at you with a blank stare like he did to me the other day. We laughed together and agreed to a reset. I asked him to join me in a 100 verse challenge by the end of his school year. I told him that we would work together to memorize 100 verses/passages of scripture. Why? There are so many voices and influences circulating around my child. The least I can do is to equip him with the word of God so that he is able to hear the voice of God clearly articulated to him in times of trouble, trials, testing, and tribulation.

This reset seems like a huge undertaking. Perhaps it is a tall order to have all of our family plans and assignments on one digital calendar. Perhaps it is too much to memorize 100 verses in one academic year. (My Baptists friends are laughing at me right now because this is usually accomplished during 2 weeks of summer camp 'sword drills'!) The reset isn't a quick fix. It is just a reminder that I can make modifications to my current life and see where I am later in the year. This is not about perfection but it is about being made perfect in God's image as someone who is always growing and learning as I love and lead others. If you are taking the time to read this reset blog, I offer you an invitation to hit the reset button this summer. Don't do it alone. Call on the Spirit to give you eyes to see and ears to hear what needs to be reshaped and realigned. Take the hand of someone close to you as you extend your hand to hit that button. They may need another courageous partner to help them hit the reset, too.

If you have time to sit down and reevaluate a corner of your world, celebrate those moments. If you don't feel like you have time to do that, please remember that the reset button is always at your fingertips. There is no rush for God is always there to nudge, love, support, and guide you to be all that you were created to be as an amazing child of God.

And if you need some musical inspiration in this reset season, take a listen to Trey McLaughlin's mash-up of Tamia & Jesus Culture. It will bless your life.

-ABL
#vacationeesh
#thereset
#ablawayfromtheatl