Play Hard, Rest Harder
Table Talk
Setting the Table
Tables are holy places where community takes place, whether you are coming to rest, to eat, or to play. You are welcome at this table. Take a moment to breathe and to center yourself. I welcome you, now offer welcome to yourself.
As we rest, we are restored and can be who we were created to be. Consider how rest reminds us who we are and what we are capable of.
Heroic though they might be, adventurers can't spend every hour of the day in the thick of exploration, social interaction, and combat. They need rest — time to sleep and eat, tend their wounds, refresh their minds and spirits for spellcasting, and brace themselves for further adventure.
— Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook
Mark 2:27
Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for humankind and not humankind for the Sabbath.”
Food for Thought
Imagine a world where you can be whatever you wish to be; you are a hero in this story but it's hard work saving the world. Doing good can make us tired.
On most given Monday evenings, I travel to a world of my and my friends’ making. In other words, on Mondays this pastor plays Dungeons & Dragons. At its core, Dungeons & Dragons is collaborative storytelling. At its most, it is an experiment of communal imagination and wonder. But hopefully, it’s always fun.
Maybe you’ve played this game, or one of the many games like it, but if you haven’t, the idea is simple: In a world of magic and wonder, of good and evil, each person at the table, in the “party”, creates a character and they join together to accomplish goals, solve problems, and exist in the world created by the dungeon master. I find the game to be helpful in understanding many parts of life like ethics, faith, diversity, teamwork, grief, success, failure, creativity, community and more! As someone steeped in the “geekdom” of Dungeons & Dragons, I find myself viewing the world from the perspective of this magical world I create with my friends. There is much we can learn from Dungeons & Dragons, including the importance of rest…bear with me for just a moment.
In Dungeons & Dragons, your character has a number of “hit points”, which is basically their health. You lose hit points as you encounter monsters, traps, and other dangerous situations. If you lose all your hit points, you have a chance of dying. But, your hit points can be restored if your character takes a rest. In a short rest (one hour), you can roll dice to get back SOME of your hit points, but if you take a long rest (eight hours), you get all your hit points restored.
We could easily apply this to our lives – we can certainly work ourselves to death if we aren’t mindful about it, and rest provides us with countless health benefits. Another cool lesson that Dungeons & Dragons teaches about rest is that every character has different abilities and skills you select during the character creation process; usually you can only do these so many times between rests.
A great example concerns spells. If you have one of those fun spellcaster characters – like wizards, sorcerers, or druids – you only get so many spell slots; if you cast enough spells, you have to rest to be able to cast more. These spells allow you to fight evil, help your party members, reshape the world, and all kinds of things. I think spells and other special abilities are what makes each character special — and what makes the game fun! Indeed in our own lives, it is our unique qualities and abilities, our gifts, that make our world and the worlds we create together special and fun.
Yet, like these characters, we have limits to what we can do. If a character never rested, they would literally be unable to do the things they were created to do. They can’t access the fullness of who they are. They won’t be able to use their gifts and special abilities to slay evil dragons, protect the townsfolk from monstrous werewolves, or save the world from eldritch terrors. Likewise, if we don’t practice self-care and find ways to restore ourselves, we can’t be who God has created us to be and we certainly can’t do what we were created to do. We won’t be able to strive for justice, promote peace, help a friend, respond to anger with kindness, or use the special gifts God has blessed us with.
Rest is such an integral part of all creation! Whether Dungeons & Dragons characters or humankind, rest is so important that we’ve been given specific rules and parameters by our loving creator to safeguard our health – so that we would not overextend ourselves – so that we might live and thrive the way we were created to. So give yourself permission to take a nice long rest, and restore those hit points, so that you can bring a little more magic to your world.
Play is an important part of life that is easy to neglect as we grow older. Try adding a little more playfulness and fun to your life this week. Board games, video games, outdoor games, sports, and puzzles are suggestions of ways to experience more play.
If your Summer schedule is already in full swing and you are in need of a fun way to stay connected with friends and loved ones through meaningful conversation, check out The Traveling Table! This FREE downloadable eBook series, can go with you wherever you go this Summer, and there is something for everyone!
For a printable version of today's reflection Click Here!
Blessing
Creator God,
You have created us to be a part of the story you are telling, and you invite us to collaborate with you. Help us to be who you created us to be and to know we need to regularly recharge to be the best version of ourselves. Let us be receptive to all the ways you invite us to joyfully experience creating with you. In Your name we pray and PLAY!
Amen.
A little Table Talk for your table...
Share about your favorite game as a child and why you loved it.
How do you know you are running low and need to recharge?
When you are your best and rested self, what are your “special abilities” that benefit the world?
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
It’s time for a game night! Choose to play a game as a family.
Write together affirmations of your child’s special abilities that change the world.
Tell a magical story together, taking turns to create a story unlike any other.
Meet our Welcoming Voice!
Ethan Overcash serves as the pastor of Emmanuel Lutheran Church in High Point, NC. A focus of his ministry is helping congregations be the best versions of who God has called them to be and gain a better sense of their core values, “whys”, and how they can unlock incredible ministry. He believes the secret to joy-filled work is to work from his play, so when he is not busy with ministry, expect to find him sitting at a table with friends around a board game, cheering on a favorite sports team, or soaking up time with his family, friends, and dogs. He loves Sci-Fi/Fantasy stories, wishes he could play even more Dungeons & Dragons, and jokingly refers to himself as an unpaid self-appointed ambassador for a regional soft drink called Cheerwine.
To hear more from Ethan throughout the week, follow along on our Instagram!
Here are Five Things to Remember When Setting Your Own Welcome Table!