Thursday, August 30, 2007
I - as you may also - catch the train home from work every night.
It is my first breath of fresh air and freedom after work, and it normally precedes the "dinner-bath-bed" rush that begins when I get home. You see, by the time I get home the kids are normally way into "Arsenic Hour", or the "5 o'clock Fit", as we've dubbed it, and Marianne is on a razor thin edge between "loving mother of 3" and "missing person". The moment that I set foot in the house at 5:45, it is complete madness until about 7:15.
I often occupy myself during my voyage ("into the mouth of madness", as it were) by reading, flicking through a copy of MX if one has been left nearby, or listening in on other train-dweller's conversations. If my day was really tough, I may even just stare blankly into space for 20 minutes.
But Justin Taylor from Between Two Worlds has done many times, I've been challenged to do something more with my time than waste it. This time is not just a last little moment of relaxation before stepping into a warzone, but a transition time where I make sure that my head and my heart are in the right place to be the servant-leader that I should be to my family.
Home is not just the place where I put my feet up and relax after work. First and foremost, it is the place where I engage in some of my most sacred duties, to shepherd - that is look after, teach, guide, protect and care for - my wife and children. My roles as a father and a husband are, after my role as a son of God, the most important ones I have, and I can tell you that after a long day, I need to get my head in the right zone to appreciate that fact.
So, whether you're a husband / dad or not, check out http://theologica.blogspot.com/2007/08/transitioning-your-soul-during-your.html and think about it. We *all* need to - continually - be transitioning our minds from self-centredness to God and other-centredness.
Grace and peace
-- Nate
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