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Last Saturday my husband and I went to have our pictures taken to renew our passports. Standing in front of the plain white background, with my glasses removed, I was prepared for a mug-like shot. What I saw startled me. I looked like a total crispy critter.

While no one looks good in a passport photo, after all you can’t take a posed selfie, I resembled a refugee from WWII. I had ignored the signs on my face of fatigue and stress.

Jesus made a point of going away. The press of the demanding and sick crowds drew his energy. The exercise of ministry could be lonely and draining. Solitude provided restoration.

One of the Ten Commandments is to keep holy the Sabbath day. God rested after creating the world. Why would we think that we could survive otherwise?

In the heat of this summer, I hope you take the example of our Lord and the Holy One and rest. My hope is that my break will lead me into looking like I belong to the land of the living too!

The Reverend Lisa Hunt, Rector