All Star Break

Major League Baseball took a much needed break this week. Starting
in 1933, the league has taken a brief mid-season rest period from a day before
the All-Star game until a day or two afterward. Most players use those days to
spend time with family, go fishing, or sleep. The Major League season at 162
regular season games is the longest and most grueling of all professional team
sports.
 
Breaks are important in our life. Ethan, my ten-year old, is
volunteering in the office today as Christi needs an mid-summer All-Star break,
if you know what I mean. Our daughters, Galina and Veeka, grew up in an
orphanage in Russia which would take a summer vacation. Several orphanages in
the area would send their children to a rustic camp by a lake. Russian summers
are nice, with daylight past 10 pm. They would grow potatoes and then at the
evening campfire, they would bury the spuds in the red coals. After the fire
cooled off, they’d dig up their perfectly cooked taters and eat them as a
before-bed snack. I have had this treat and it is one of the most memorable
potatoes I have ever eaten. While the children were at camp for a month, repairs
would happen at the orphanage. Construction crews would take advantage of the good weather and nearly 18 hours of daylight. The highlights of orphanage life (which are few) for our girls were their summer breaks.
 
Likewise Saint John’s School is going through an All-Star break. We
are repairing, painting, and doing projects around the campus. The teachers are
resting and preparing for an exciting school year. At the church, we are just
past the half-way point from Epiphany to Christmas. Many folks 
 
from the church are going on vacation. The Marshalls are on
vacation starting Monday the 22nd for an entire week at my sister-in-law’s cabin in the Sierras where we will be fishing, canoeing, hiking, resting and swimming. 
 
At a half-way point in the Israelites' journey to the Promised
Land, Moses needed an All-Star break. He trekked up a mountain and sat with God for about a month. It was a turning point in his relationship with God, with his people, and God’s relationship with the Israelites and even us today. After
taking his break, Moses walked back downhill carrying the Ten Commandments. 
 
I remember my summer breaks fondly – probably more than I remember
being in school. Despite being in an orphanage situation, our girls remember
their camp experience fondly. As baseball players take a break, I wonder if they
will remember what they did with three days off after more than 80-some days of baseball they played prior to the break and another 80 some after. Although
Moses didn’t write about it, I imagine that he remembered his time with God as a
highlight of his life. I visualize him, after a tough day leading the people,
retiring into his tent and remembering his walks with God, and then falling
gently asleep. 
 
May you find yourself taking a summer All-Star break. Maybe you can
even think about taking a mini-break right now by sitting back and remembering,
like Moses, the times you were on summer break,



- Fr. Marshall