“Hello, my name is Eric and I am a work-a-holic”  I think I may actually be addicted to work.  Working gives me a sense of peace, accomplishment, and all the other great endorphins that come with feeling good.  So there should be no surprise when I say I felt a pang of envy as I watched my neighbor work on his yard this past Saturday.  Saturdays are my “off/rest days” – the days I dedicate to sleeping in, eating leisurely meals, playing with my family and practicing my avocations.  Well, as I ate my leisurely breakfast and sipped my coffee along with my wife and son, there went my neighbor, industriously shaping his yard into a monument of suburban beauty.  Instantly I felt behind; my yard was in need of mowing, there were limbs still down from a storm a few days back, and leaves were already beginning to litter my driveway as a harbinger to the approaching Fall.

As tempting as it was, I let the work go.  I knew Sunday would come, and with it the promise of a new week of work.  What mattered at this moment was the family right on front of me.  A son who is rapidly growing from a 6 year old into a 7 year old, and a wife who has given so much of herself to my work – no, today was a day to play.

And play we did.  Off to the farmer’s market we went, gathering fresh vegetables, meat, and eggs.  A stop by our favorite butcher shop where I picked up some of my favorite beer.  What?  Of course you go to a butcher’s shop to get beer.  And finally, to the river where we lounged on half submerged rocks, floated in inner tubes, and just. . . played.

A few years ago, I would have felt guilty for taking the time off.  My mind would have been obsessed with the work to come, and with it so would come the anxiety.  But thanks to Grace, I can let myself play; I can rest well, enjoying the moment, and storing up memories with my family for the future.  Grace is the mysterious link allowing us to make the transition from work to rest, and back to work.  While boundaries and programs can help us make the transition, Grace is the grease that makes the transition possible.

I’m curious – does anyone else struggle with this, or is it just me?  Regardless, I hope this week you are able to work and then rest well.  Don’t focus on work and rest as a balance, but instead as an intricate dance swinging to the music of Grace.