The Inefficiency of the Seventh Year

Note from Laura:  This email was originally posted on January 31, 2013 for www.the7thyear.com.  You can access the original blog post here.   

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Our nation worships the idol of productivity and efficiency.  “Get more out of less.”  “Increased productivity- We promise!”

What we hear, deep down is “You are nothing if you cannot produce.”  “How dare you waste time? God gave you your life to use it? Be a good steward.”

How terribly sad it is that these lying voices keep us from a slow walk with our children, or fully enjoying a sunny summer afternoon, or even hearing God whisper something marvelous in our ear.

Yet God says, “but in the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused.”

WHAT?  SERIOUSLY?

Imagine…not intentionally producing ANYTHING in that seventh year.   No seed was to be sown.  It was to be a year of healing, cancelling debts, and even a year of giving to others.  The land would receive its Sabbath.

Sounds kind of nice to get a break from the plow… but how will we feed the kids?

Our God certainly values work.  It is a 6-1 ratio!  God made and designed us to give, to do, to overflow!  But just as we tend to move to the extremes, we ignore the rhythm designed for our wellbeing.

If you consider this for a moment, we really are extremely inefficient creatures.  We sleep roughly 1/3 of our life. Consider your cook/clean-time to eating-time ratio.  It’s not exactly the definition of efficiency!

Yet we run to efficiency like a dog to a bone.  Our fallen minds cling to the idea that we can control and receive more if we just work through that seventh day…that seventh year.  But running after the goal of increasing efficiency and productivity will never satisfy.  The 7th year completely throws out our ability to control.   We are left without our own devices to trust in our Provider.

What if we came together to proclaim the better way? What if we measured our success by our trust…communion with God…intentional living…strength in surrender?

It’s the 7th year

 

Go to www.the7thyear.com for more information.  Laura has Mentoring Encounter Opportunities available for Pastor's and Ministry Wives starting in January 2014.  Information can be found here.  

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Reason "Tree By Water" is Here: #1

I have been watching pastor's wives over the past 18 years.  

Some appear happy and selfless as they serve non-stop.  Others feel called to other things and bless their husbands in their work and are not involved in the church.  Some find a mostly peaceful balance and they find contentment.  Some suffer greatly from the hands of others and/or their husband.  Some are dutiful but the resentment seeps through. And others (myself included) have been in each of these places. 

It isn't only difficult to be in ministry, but it is difficult to be HEALTHY in ministry.  I have witnessed may struggle in their marriages, ministry life, and own health.   Being married to a pastor is not always a walk in the park.  

In the work of spiritually caring for others, it is easy for our own spiritual care to be put on the back burner. 

A few years ago, Bill Hybels spoke at the Willow Creek Summit about Holy Discontent.  This is what resonated in my heart as he spoke…

Women married to men in ministry need support and care.  

And the dream of ministering to Pastor’s Wives started simmering in my soul. And now the dream is being born…

What if every pastor's and ministry wife felt spiritually, emotionally, relationally, and physically encouraged and strengthened?  What if every Ministry Wife was encouraged to walk in her true self and calling? What if every Pastor's Wife felt a close connection to the One she is serving?

Imagine every Ministry Wife as a Tree by Water.

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But blessed is the man who trusts me, God,

the woman who sticks with God.

They are like trees replanted in Eden,

putting down roots near the rivers—

Never a worry through the hottest of summers, 
never dropping a leaf,

Serene and calm through droughts,

bearing fresh fruit every season.
-Jeremiah 17:8-9 (MSG)

Much love to you,

Laura