Redondo Reflections…

It was one day before I was to announce the details of a short-sabbatical, and I just wanted to spend time with God.

A “sabbatical” is a break from the daily ins-and-outs of work and regular schedules for the purpose of rest, reflection, and reconnecting with God.

During this break, I wanted some extended time with God, Jennie, and our kids.  I wanted my soul to be recharged, my mind to be transformed, and my heart to simply bask in the love, truth, and passion of God.  (As a pastor, it sure helps to have a fully-alive soul, mind, and heart!)

But on Saturday, August 28, 2010, I gave God one more request.

I asked him to care for the details of the break.

I confessed that – as grateful as I would be for the break – I did not have a clear “schedule” of how I, or how we, would spend that month.  The last thing I wanted was get all immersed in schedules, details, and deadlines.  Check that – I also didn’t want to spend any money to go or do anything costly.

I knew one thing for sure – that God had clearly directed me to seek a break like this.  And, if He was truly guiding in this… I believed He would take care of the details.  I believed that God had a plan for my September.  I believed that God would direct my path, oversee my schedule, and open doors along the way.

So I prayed, “God, this is your month.  September is yours.  If you would also take care of any details, plans, travel, or scheduling things involved, that would be awesome!“

When I first prayed that, I sighed.  God doesn’t have to answer our prayers.  Ever.

Especially ones that feel selfish.

But God knew I needed a time to “recharge” my heart, soul, and mind.   I asked for God’s help with logistics, and I actually believed He would handle it.  I had no clue how much God would delight in blessing me, my wife, and our family during the month of September.

What a novel thought – God loves to give good and perfect gifts to His children?!  I knew that, but to experience that?

Spoiler Alert: God sometimes answers prayers in extravagant ways that are entirely His prerogative…

I thought it might be helpful to spend a few days “out of town” somewhere that I could unplug from daily things and focus on God.  I phoned a friend.  A cousin, actually.

I left a voicemail with Mike & Sarah Phelps (cousins on my Mom’s side), describing my desire to be out of central Ohio for a break.

Within minutes, Sarah calls back saying, “I think I’ve got something that just might be perfect.”

In other words, God was already up to something.  It’s as if He already had the first week of my short-sabbatical planned out, paid for, and custom-made for Gary Underwood.  It’s as if He’d already heard and answered the prayers of our friends (and our church friends!) that this would be a refreshing and blessed-by-God kind of time.

Mike and Sarah live in Southern California.  One of the pastors at their church has a retreat house.  A retreat house that a pastor could use for free.  In a quiet and beautiful neighborhood.  Three minutes from a Jamba Juice.  Five minutes from Trader Joe’s.  Six minutes from Starbucks.  Nine minutes from the best Greek food in the world.  Ten minutes from the beach.  Ten minutes from a few beaches, actually.  With a car I could use for free.

(Important fact: Earlier this year, I was given a $400 voucher for any flight in the country by United Airlines.  Coincidence?)

So… because of God’s grace, power, and sovereign care, my heavenly father gifted me with a week in Southern California.  By the beach.  I spent every morning reading the Psalms, journaling thoughts and prayers, running on Redondo Beach, marveling at God’s creation and the amazing views.

Skies.  Waves.  Mountains.  Dolphins.  Seals.  Jamba Juice.

Praise to the Creator!  He drew me in, planned my retreat, and blessed me in so many ways.

I didn’t blog.  I didn’t e-mail.  I didn’t Facebook.  I didn’t call people.  I didn’t do any tourist-y stuff like seeing the Hollywood sign or walking on some boulevard with stars and celebrity names on them.  I didn’t go to any big, famous churches.  I didn’t try to visit Beverly Hills or Malibu or whatever.

God swept me away for a week, and this week was for Him.  It was also for my wife, Jennie, who flew out (FREE as another gift), for four days together with God and each other.

I’m writing all this to say thank you to God, and to encourage you to seek Him out!

And so here are some of “Redondo Reflections”…

(1) The most important thing about my life is my relationship with God.  Same is true for you!

(2) The most important thing is to seek God’s presence, to be with Him!  He invites and calls us to that!  Read Psalm 16 a few times before you disagree with me.  Read Matthew 6:25-34 as well.

(3) In every day life, we are often “too busy” to seek God.  We need to get over that.  We need to fix that.  I want to spend focused time with God every day, every week, every month, every year.  Life is too precious to waste time on lesser relationships.

(4) In order to have time with God, you’ve got to fight for it, protect it, schedule it, defend it, and eliminate distractions from it.  Turn off the celly.  Close the laptop.  Schedule a daily meeting with God into your Outlook or iCal.  Get up a half hour earlier each day.  Be more intentional about what you do with your family time.  And yes, turn off the television.

I lived without all those things in Southern California (of all places), and I already remember this as one of the best weeks of my life.

(5) Read Psalm 16 – read it every day until it means something to you and you actually apply it.

At Redondo Beach, I experienced “God as my Refuge” in so many ways, and I am grateful.

(6) Upon my return to central Ohio… it was immediately clear that the landscape is different.  The schedule is different.  The cost-of-living is different.  All the doors don’t open up to a Southern California vacation every day.

But that isn’t the point.

The best part about my California time wasn’t the beach, the running, the rest, the food, or even the time with my wife.

The best… was knowing and experiencing the love of my Father in a very powerful and personal way.  He cares for the big things and the little things in our lives.  He is waiting for us to carve out time in our frenetic schedules to make Him our Lord once again.

God LOVES to take care of His children.

The point is that He’s waiting for us to SEEK HIM first.  To prize His presence.  To ASK Him to show His power, His love, His thoughtfulness, His beauty to you.  To recognize it in Delaware, Ohio every bit as much as Redondo Beach, California.

To punch out time in your schedules to be with God again through the Bible, through His world, through His people and through your own life… and find that HE is so very good.  God is too good to be true.  And yet… He is true.