The 7th Year- Week 3

Safe Space

This week Alicia asked us to add another layer to a map we have been creating over the past weeks. The detail and personal moments aren’t something I’d like to share with the current and future world via the internet, so I will keep those to myself. However, I was struck by another part of the reading this week. 

Alicia mentions three points about the biblical 7th year; rest the land and hear the law, release slaves and cancel debts, and make no profit and give generously. Can you imagine being commanded to do these things? This type of leadership model doesn’t sound like it would work in our economy. But that’s exactly it. This isn’t a command given to work within “the system”. God’s ways aren’t bound by our ways. 

I can not begin to imagine what it would feel like to take a year to simply listen to the Word of God being spoken over me. 

What about my school loans? I seriously would not know what I would do if I got a letter from my lenders stating that my college loans had been cancelled. Yes! Bring it on Deuteronomy! 

And since my loans would be paid off and we would no longer have a mortgage, living profitless and giving generously...well, that would just be fun! 

Imagine what it would be like. Imagine the freedom. Imagine the weightlessness. Imagine the possibilities of movement, change, growth. Imagine looking up and enjoying the view rather than keeping eyes down to the plow. Imagine taking it all in. 

Imagine the space in your mind- the uncluttered thinking. 

Imagine the space in your time- the freedom to rest and enjoy. 

Imagine the space in your heart- the healing that’d take place. 

Alicia writes that space is telling. 

About a year ago, I began thinking a great deal about space. 

My understanding is that space equals freedom. Freedom to move about, explore, grow. Freedom to challenge yourself in all areas. Freedom to wiggle, experiment, stretch

But I also understand that space requires trust. Trust that someone else has all danger at bay. Trust that appropriate and safe boundary lines have been established and marked clearly. Trust that responsibilities will be tended. 

I think about this idea of space quite a bit. 

I think about fish needing a bigger tank to grow. 

I think about risking it all to tackle something bigger, harder, different, unfamiliar. 

I think about my husband wanting to ice climb (is that what it’s called?), cycle for more miles than I care to think about it, summit tough mountains, and race harder/faster than he’s ever done before. He wants to challenge himself and push past his current experiences. He wants to explore. 

And I dream of a place where I can drop the worries of my world at the road and enjoy safe space, true freedom, deep rest, utmost protection. 

The 7th Year- week 1

Two days ago I began a journey- a 52 week journey of spiritual formation. I am walking this journey with a new friend and together we will discuss a variety of topics- everything   from mapping our life’s journey to our personal theologies of time and our honest relationship with the Bible. 

I will be sharing my thoughts about this journey, called The 7th Year, with you as I go. I hope you’ll cheer me on during the weeks it get’s tough...and maybe begin the journey yourself. 

The 7th Year, written and hosted by Alicia Britt Chole, is an e-journey. Each week I get an email with a some thought provoking material and a guided discussion/activity. My friend and I will discuss our thoughts on the weekly email- in person and electronically...whichever suits our week the best. 

I was intrigued by the title- The 7th Year. Chole writes that 

“When we study the biblical passages about the 7th, Sabbath, year, this command contains several challenging components:

• Rest the land and hear the Law
• Release slaves and cancel debts

• Make no profit and give generously.

In an agricultural community, such a year would drastically change the fabric of a community. Space would be startling (and space is very telling).

The 7th Year is a focused space, neither extra nor empty, but devoted and healing.

There is something in the name, The 7th Year, that marries hope—a life-giving yet invisible substance—with a participation that is tangible. There is something about the name that fuses a fragrant, timeless mystery with a compelling, timely invitation.”

Doesn’t that just make you want to sit still and join me? If this strikes you as AWESOME, you can download a free sample of her email....you can read what I got to read this last week. You can do the activity- mapping your life- that I was able to do. Visit her website www.the7thyear.com and see for yourself! 

Heartache and hope- things the 7th year allows. 

All this talk about 7 years and life mapping causes me to ask what have I been doing the last 7 years of my life. Thinking back to February 2005.... Gil and I were in our second year of marriage. We were in the first year as directors of Chi Alpha Campus Ministry at Longwood University. We didn't have kids yet. We lived on Franklin Street in a super cute little house. And the previous month I asked Annette to mentor me- certainly a life-changing moment. (You can read her own wise words here and here.) The last 7 years have brought about such change in my life. I have fought battles that ended in victory and defeat, I have made choices that brought life-long lessons, I have found friends that will remain close despite miles, and hopefully, I have gained some wisdom from all of it. This season of itinerating for Chi Alpha @ Uconn and transition from VA to CT has caused my to ask questions that have never crossed my mind, confront unspoken and internal values I gathered somewhere in life, and walk a faith tightrope like never before. 

I am up for a year of Sabbath. In a somewhat literal sense and entirely figurative sense, I am ready to step back and think through this life of mine. 

Has the soil where life has taken place been stripped of it's nutrients? Would a time of rest/sabbath/fallow replenish the components necessary for healthy life?