Getting out of the rat race...

July 2013 - post 24 hours of travel with four kids

This is a photo of me "fresh off the boat" in Auckland. Travel with four kids took it's toll... but the root of my exhaustion was a bit deeper. We spent several years running ourselves into the ground. It was the slow and steady addition of well intentioned things, that nearly sunk our battleship...

Fortunately we landed on a beautiful island in the Southwestern Pacific Ocean. It has been a pretty great place to rest and regroup.

People have asked us how it feels to "get out of the rat race"... and while I understand the analogy, it seems like harsh terminology. We got out of something that was killing us, but I didn't think it was a "rat race".

November 2012 - after a good nights sleep (peak of exhaustion)

I have taken comfort (and pride) in believing that the race I have been running isn't as "ratty" as this guys... but when I take an honest look, I have to acknowledge the idols that have shaped and dictated my life. The things I have "worshiped" may not be (outwardly) as detestable as the Cadillac guy's... but they certainly have the ability to kill my joy and distract me from a race more worthy of my energy.

April 2014- starting to getting some sparkle back in my eyes.

Tim Keller is one of a small number of authors that I would quite universally recommend to anyone  curious about faith. He has pretty worthwhile things to say and he's not a jerk about saying them. His perspective on idolatry in the book Counterfeit Gods has helped me get a better handle on the things in my life that are exhausting... the things that make life feel like an endless, self-defeating, and pointless pursuit - a rat race.

Our move to New Zealand certainly wasn't an off ramp from the "rat race". The things in my life that I have made idols (productivity, approval, a perfect facade - to list a few of the nice ones) follow me wherever I go.

But I will say... being here has given me the time that I needed to do a bit more self examination. I am slowly starting to pan out and get the aerial view on life and the things that typically trip me up. I am not entirely sure that it is possible to "get out of the rat race"... but it is worth a little bit of thought.