OUT TO PASTOR: Learning what “Me-Time” is all about

Several months ago, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage said she and her daughter and granddaughter were going to St. Augustine for a week and wondered if I wanted to go along.

I said, “Let me think about it for a while, and I’ll get back to you.”

Then, I overheard a conversation between my wife and her daughter concerning their trip to St. Augustine. 

One phrase that kept coming up in that conversation was “thrift stores.”

That caught my attention.

If there’s a place I do not like to be, it is a thrift store. 

The week before she went, she asked me if I wanted to go along with them.

I was not too fond of her smile on this occasion; I knew exactly what it meant.

Thinking about how to get out of the situation, I told her, “No, I don’t think I want to go; there are some things I need to do here, so you girls go and have a great time.”

“What is it that you need to do?”

I said as seriously as possible, “I need to spend some Me-Time here by myself.”

“Me-Time,” she said as she laughed. “Do you need any advice on how to do that activity?”

The week of the “girl’s trip” had arrived, and The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage had her Sissy Van packed for the trip. I noticed a large empty spot in the back, but I didn’t say anything to her about it. I knew exactly the purpose of that space.

Finally, she said goodbye, kissed me and was out the door to begin the trip to St. Augustine.

Early the following day, I began doing some of my projects for the week. I had some books that needed reading, and started my work.

A little after noon, I checked my watch and wondered where lunch was. Usually, by this time, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage has lunch ready. So I got up and went into the kitchen to see what was holding her up.

When I got into the kitchen, it dawned on me that I was involved in “Me-Time” for the week. I’m not sure I had included lunchtime in my preparation for this week.

I opened the refrigerator, picked out some things for lunch, and enjoyed my lunch. The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage had prepared many things in the fridge for this week, so I took advantage of her generous preparations.

As I was munching on my lunch, I was thinking about this “Me-Time” that I thought was wonderful. But at least I had lunch, and then I could return to what I was doing.

At suppertime, it was the same routine. As I ate my supper, I couldn’t help but think that this “Me-Time” wasn’t worth the time. But I was in the middle of it, so there was nothing I could do.

I put in a lot of hard work and finally went to bed.

I must’ve slept very well that night because before I knew it, morning arrived, and time to get up and have breakfast. I noticed it was empty on the other side of the bed, and I just thought that she had gotten up ahead of me and was getting everything ready for breakfast.

I walked out to the kitchen, and there was nobody in the kitchen. So I wondered where she could have been and how soon she would have breakfast.

Looking out the front window, I noticed her Sissy Van was missing, and then it dawned on me – she’s not here, and I’m on my “Me-Time” misadventure.

The first thing I had to do was to make the coffee. Looking around, I could not see any coffee, only an empty coffee pot on the counter. Now, I had to figure out how to work that coffee pot.

I found the coffee grounds for the coffee pot. I didn’t know how much to put in, so I put in a lot because I like a nice hot cup of coffee. Then I put water where it was supposed to go and thought I had everything well done.

With my fingers crossed, I pressed the start button and the coffee pot – and nothing happened.

Now, what was I supposed to do?

As I moaned over this, I noticed that the coffee was unplugged. I sighed a deep sigh and plugged it in and pressed the button in the coffee pot started to work.

That was just the beginning of “Me-Time,” and much more was happening.

After two days of this, I realized all the work that The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage did that I was unaware of.

Giving this a lot of thought, I was reminded of the verse of Scripture. “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3).

Maybe instead of focusing on “Me-Time,” it would be much better to focus on “We-Time.” There is much more advantageous to this.

Dr. James L. Snyder lives in Ocala, FL with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Telephone is (352) 216-3025, e-mail is jamessnyder51@gmail.com, and website is www.jamessnyderministries.com.