Time Out

Then he said to them, ‘The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.’ Mark 2:27-28
Sometimes in life we have to break the rules. When my children were small and broke rules, they got a time out. Either a few minutes of quiet away from the action, or a sit in a chair away from TV or any other entertainment. The time out never lasted too long, and we were fairly inconsistent parents. We wanted our children to have limits mostly so they were safe. All humans test the limits and break the rules. And sometimes we have to break the rules so that we can survive, or so that the routine does not become God. God needs to be God.

Every so often when the girls were little we would have what we called picky dinner. We would spread a blanket on the floor, and put together trays of food we could eat with our hands. Carrot sticks, popcorn, crackers, cheese, bologna roll-ups - all the foods we could grab and eat, against the normal rules of the house. But the time away from the rules, the time out from a balanced diet and some semblance of manners, allowed us all to know the blessings of life. We were together, we were fed, and life as we knew it went on despite the break in propriety. God is still God, no matter how we break the rules. And God loves us just the same, in time out or well-behaved.

Gracious Creator, you gave us choice and challenge us to be faithful.
Grant us the grace to know when to follow custom and when following
custom keeps us from following you.
Your road is love, walked and lived out in all times.
Your road is justice, raining down on us daily.
Your road is light and truth, day and night and we desire to follow you.
Give us courage to break through boundaries of ear and discrimination,
so that we might bring others to your sacred road.
Fill us with spirit, feed us with strength,so that body mind and soul
might keep walking, and rejoicing as we follow you.
In the name of your loving son who sacrificed his all that we might
walk this sacred Godly path. Amen