Folks are starting to head up north. It is still "season" here on Sanibel--as opposed to "off-season"--but things are beginning to taper off. Every Sunday several of our seasonal residents tell us it is their last Sunday until next season. Some will come back as early as September, most will return in October or November. And a number will wait until the holidays are past and arrive in January. There is always a lot of coming and going here on the island--and at church as well.
Over the four plus years I've been here I've thought about that seasonality a lot. It impacts everything we do. A few Sundays ago we had 570 in worship. This August it could dip below 100. Right now we have three services on Sunday morning. In the summer, we'll have just one. Even our boards and committees take a four or five month hiatus. I've already met with some that won't reconvene until October.
I miss the folks who leave each year. I miss the excitement of a full and busy church schedule. But I also look forward to the slowing down which comes in June. I have yet to fully master the rhythm--I don't take full advantage of the off season "lull"--and I've been known to run myself ragged in February and March. But I'm working on it.
The seasonality, of course, is not just my life right now, it is also a metaphor for life, period. There are highs and lows, times of great drive and energy, and times when things quiet down. It is all so clichéd--yet all so true. And in many ways we spend our whole lives adjusting to the rhythms! But like a piece of complicated music, the minute you get used to the rhythm, it changes yet again. And while it may be a bit frustrating at times, it is also what makes it all so beautiful!
No comments:
Post a Comment