Next Week

I am still recovering from a terribly hectic week last week, one of great graces but also great stress. I was in a class that met in the mornings and was in tech rehearsals that went late into the night. When our show finally opened and the class ended on Friday, I was completely fatigued and desperate for the downtime that I knew was coming over the past few days. I kept looking forward to “next week”.

That is a feeling I know well, of being exhausted and looking into the future toward a period of rest that I know is coming. My whole life I’ve been told “Don’t wish time away” as if looking forward to something else was the same as hating the here and now. I enjoyed the conversation of the class I took, and the music and laughter of our show, but also thought dreamily of sleeping in some morning and spending an afternoon on a beach.

I think this is one of the major misconceptions about faith in the Reign of God. Believing that there is something indescribably wonderful that awaits us does not mean believing that everything we have now is worthless. I can believe that our fallen world is sanctified already and that there’s a glorious other reality that we haven’t seen yet. Holding on to that hope is not wishing the time away.

So tonight, when we go into the second weekend of our run, I will be in the moment on stage. I will enjoy every moment of collaboration and creativity. But even now, plowing through five performances in four days,  I have plenty to look forward to, beyond the work I love so much. I’m still looking forward to next week, as I look forward to most weeks, holding the joy of the present and the anticipation of the future side-by-side in my hopeful heart.