Sabbatical #7

I thought I'd give you an update on the Sabbatical so far...

When I last left you, I was headed to Camp Lutherhaven near Ft. Wayne for a few days. The retreat was great. I spent 2 nights in "solitary" if you will. I read my 4 books, and took a few walks as well as a couple of runs. I spent some time on the trainer with my bike. I had the opportunity to go to lunch with Brenda Jank who operates an organization called Run Hard. Rest Well.  Her husband Tim Jank is the Executive Director of Camp Lutherhaven. It was great to spend time with her and find out about what she is doing in the area of Health and Wellness in our church. She asked if I would be interested in being a contributor to the website. If I have something to say, I might. She recommended 2 books that I purchased since then, one on Spiritual Disciplines, and one on the Enneagram personality type indicator. I look forward to diving into both of those soon.

My favorite part of my time at Camp was a walk that I took to explore the property. I wasn't sure what to think about, so I started to pray the Lord's Prayer. I must have said it 20 times on my walk, slowly reflecting on each phrase. Each time I said it, I had different thoughts. It was meaningful. When I returned to my room, I started reading "Walking the Labyrinth" again. The author Travis Scholl then started using the Lord's Prayer in the book as an outline for his prayer meditation. Perhaps my reading of his book took me to the same place in my spiritual journey that God was taking Travis, and we ended up at the same place at the same time. I was taken back a bit by that experience, thankful for the chance to have such an event occur in my life.

After 3 days/ 2 nights at the camp I traveled south to Muncie for the night to race on Saturday at the Indiana Spring Sprint Triathlon at Ball State. I checked in at the race the night before and hung out with the race organizers (American Multi-Sport) for a bit and talked about the Sabbatical. They are both brothers in Christ and I appreciate their vision of athletics and competition. I raced in the rain on Saturday. It was not the best of race conditions, and my bike did not want to stop at the corners. I took the ride very slow, especially at the turns. Despite my caution, I was able to place first in my age group. I then traveled home.

Next installment coming soon. I'll catch you up on my trip to St. Louis, my 4th race, and my trip to Woodstock NY! (That's where I am now)