Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews but departed from there to the countryside near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and he stayed there with the disciples.

John 11:54 CSB

It's not always possible to go to a town called Ephraim and go to ground, have a retreat with your best people, but this is a reminder that we need time out.

Time out from the news barrage.

Time out from the things that are pushing in.

Time out from what steals your joy.

Take a moment to breathe. 

Focus on the air moving in...and out.

Take a moment to listen.

A moment, 20 minutes here, an hour there, maybe that's the best we can do right now. 

Ephraim means fruitful. 

Jesus went to away from the noise and drama to a town called fruitful. 

Ephraim was a son born in a place of captivity, Genesis 41:52 And the second son he named Ephraim and said, "God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction."

Fruitful in the land of affliction. 

That's the place that Jesus went, under pressure, his life threatened, he knew that this is all part of a bigger, more wonderful story. 

And our lives are too, part of God's bigger, wonderful story. 

Find a wee bit of space today to go to Ephraim. 

#breathe