I do this every single day. Literally. I get up and walk away.

As a minister, I stay pretty busy. And sometimes, all the things that I have going on in my life, in my family, and in my church seems to bear down and weighs heavily on me.

At times like that, I have a choice. I can either try to keep going, and allow the stress to build. Or I can get up and walk away.

I choose to walk away. At least for a few moments.

In our church, we have a lot of stained glass windows. When I feel like I have to get away for a moment, I usually go into our auditorium and sit for a few moments, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. Sometimes, I pray. Sometimes, I listen. And sometimes, I just sit and allow the stress to bleed off of me.

And, usually, after a few moments of this, I’m ready to get back to the tasks at hand. My heart has been unburdened, and I feel like I can continue.

I don’t always move throughout our building through. If the weather is nice, I will take a walk around the building on the outside. Or walk down the block, or even downtown.

From a couple blocks down the road, we have a very nice view of the sun as it rises over a wooded ridge east of town. Many times, I go out just to watch a few minutes of glorious light and the beauty it instills.

And, once in a while, I will leave and drive down to the Big Piney River, and walk along the bank for a few minutes, allowing the scenery to bring peace to my mind.

As a leader, I find times like these invaluable. The quiet solitude and the slowing down of my hectic schedule, even for just a few moments, allows me to regain my focus, and sharpen my mind for the rest of the day.

Being busy and moving all the time can get a lot of things done, but if that is all that occurs, I’m afraid we have missed the point. We need a quite part of our lives. A part of our lives where Jesus speaks into us for our own benefit and for the benefit of others.

Jesus told his disciples, “My peace I give you. Don’t let your hearts be troubled” (John 14:27). When I take a deep look at my life, I often see a troubled heart, focused on the next thing, worrying about how something will go, or how something went, or what I still need to get done.

It seems to me like those attitudes are in direct conflict with the words of Christ.

Peace begins on the inside. And it comes from the Holy Spirit. But if I am too busy with my own thoughts and worries, I will miss his voice.

But when I take those moments and slow down, calm my mind, and be aware of Jesus, he invades me with his peace.

And I can offer a fresh view of Jesus to others because he is embedded into my life, and into my character. His peace stills me, and spreads out from me to others.

And that enables me to be more of the leader for our church, for my family, in our community, that God desires me to be.

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