Entr'acte.

 "Man is born broken. He lives by mending. The grace of God is the glue." Eugene O'Neil

Each summer Peanut and I pick a theme to enrich our summer (some of you remember the 1980s summer last year).

Ever the theater kid, this summer we picked Musicals. We have a LONG list of musicals that we are working our way through.

We've learned in all the musicals there is a screen that pops up in between acts that says "Intermission."

Followed shortly by another screen that says "entr'acte."

The Entr'acte is the music that you hear between the two acts. It's the sound of the Intermission.

Last night as we were watching My Fair Lady, Peanut asked "Why do all the musicals have an intermission on the DVD?"

It made sense to her that if you were in person in the theater that you would need a minute to go to the bathroom or get chocolate from the concession stand.

Growing up in today's age of streaming, Peanut has never had to wait for a commercial to pee or get snacks.

I explained to her that Intermission is sort of like a forced pause.

It's a way to say "Whether you think you need one or not, now is the time to take a break."

We live in a time of no intermissions.

Go, go, go.

Where busy is a badge of success.

We don't allow time to hear the entr'acte. We miss some of the most beautiful music of our life because we won't be still to hear it.

I've found, the very hard way, that if you don't schedule your own Intermissions - they get scheduled for you.

If you run your body too hard, it gets sick.

If you work too much, you get burned out.

If you don't make time for relationships, you lose the connection.

Intermission is a very integral part of living a healthy balanced life.

Intermission is a Sabbath.

A time to pause, recenter.

Mama Warriors, for many, summer offers a chance to take an Intermission.

School pauses. Many activities pause.

It's our CHOICE in this time - do we surrender to those pauses, live into the Intermission?

Or do we fill those pauses with the elusive "more."

I challenge us all this summer to surrender to the Intermission.

And he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." Mark 2:27

We were made to work AND to rest.

Make a fort in your living room and read books. Eat a popsicle while searching for lightening bugs. Watch a movie with your eyes closed.

Set one day a week aside to be able to hear the entr'acte.

Be still.

Embrace the Intermission.

Listen for the entr'acte.