 Something for the Journey
Janette M. Lallier, Director of Operations and Finance (She’s Back!!)
On the last Sunday of my sabbatical, over brunch with friends, it was suggested that I use Monday, the last official day, to take time to reflect, journal, and draw lessons from the time away. It sounded like a good idea! So on the last day of my sabbatical I woke up, did my weekly organizing of putting last week away and preparing for the one to come, made lunch and decided a little rest was the best journal prompt. Seven hours later I awoke in a panic convinced it was the next morning and I had missed my call. After interrogating every clock in the house to assure myself it was still Monday night, I took a moment to find a journal and … decided to go to bed.
Likely put to bed because of jet lag from my fabulous sabbatical project with the Cape Town Unitarians, while that last day didn’t go as planned it did highlight one of my sabbatical lessons: Rest and renewal are essential to maintaining balance in my life and sustaining my calling. My time away also brought some gentle insights on my calling – but that is for a future newsletter.
As the universe often conspires to drive home a point, this first week back has brought emails, links, articles and post signs reminding me to recommit daily to balance. This week has also brought an acute awareness that the world is different than it was when I began my sabbatical. Each day seems to bring yet another unsettling topic and with it grief and threats. While I catch up on the ways the UUMA has been working to support you all through this time I will take a moment to remind us all of the lessons of rest and renewal. And share the messages the universe has dropped in my path in case they may be useful to you as you sustain your call through these unsettling times:
- “Often, we as leaders misunderstand rest as a reward rather than a requirement. It is easy to believe that some level of ministry must be completed before rest is warranted. However, rest is necessary to sustain ministry.” From Individuals and institutions need intentional rest and reflection found in Alban’s Faith & Leadership Newsletter
- “Be the Light for One Another. Check-in with one another. Send that text to the person you haven’t seen in a while. Schedule that coffee. Like the early days of the pandemic, being there for one another is vitally important.” From an email from The Support Center entitled: So This Has Been a Week, Right?
- “… while loving others is of course important, loving myself is vital. I no longer wait to be perfect in order to love myself … I feel that love and admiration in every cell of my body.” excerpted from the February page on my Hay House 2025 Calendar “365 Daily Affirmations”
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