Welcome! I’m glad you’re here as we push pause on the worry and striving of the day and look for the rest and beauty in the places we stand. If you’re not already, you can subscribe below to get this weekly email in your inbox.
Amidst the hardships and heartache of this Covid-19 pandemic one common experience for many has been a slowed rhythm of life. The morning rush to get out the door and fight traffic, the hurrying to after school events, the weekend mix of errands and parties came to a halt, and we suddenly found ourselves with an open calendar.
No one’s experience has been the same but there has been a shared moment of prolonged waiting and quieter schedules for most of us. Perhaps in the last few months we’ve tasted the sweetness of rest in a new way that we didn’t know we were craving.
We’ve talked about rest as a daily discipline but the keeping of a weekly sabbath is something we often neglect. Who has a whole day to devote to rest and how could I possibly do that anyway? My early thoughts of sabbath were formed from my belief that sabbath was for those within Judaism and that the command, “honor the sabbath and keep it holy” simply meant I was supposed to go to church. Like most things we uncover in scripture, sabbath is richer and fuller than the words on the page and is meant as a gift to us instead of a rule to follow.
The practice of sabbath is the honoring of 1 day a week for rest and worship (side note: it can be any day of the week). It’s a time of reorienting ourselves to the rhythm of work and rest displayed in the account of creation. God created and then rested and called the day not just good, but holy (Genesis 2:2-3).
The spirit of the day is to remember God and delight in him as creator, acknowledge our limits, and honor our need for rest. It becomes a practice of relinquishing control and trusting that the world continues to spin even when we stop for a day. Sabbath is meant for our good. It’s not to limit us or create rigid rules that feel more like a burden than a gift.
To guide us in the practice of sabbath keeping we can ask “What helps me delight in God and God’s good gifts?”. You can create, nap, watch a movie, cook dinner with friends, or do any number of things that help your spirit feel full. Keeping sabbath is not about the activities you do or don’t do but about the intention of your heart as you go about your day and purpose yourself to notice the presence of God in all things.
This doesn’t mean our sabbath days will be perfect and without any work. Little kids will still need care and dishes will still gather at the sink, but we can plan for and honor the spirit of the day with a little forethought as we approach the day with a different mindset than the others in our week.
Sabbath helps us soften our hearts and open them to the presence of God where we are, just as we are. The striving to do more, get more, be more is set aside so that we may instead pick up the gift of rest, worship, and delight. Sabbath becomes the balm for our weariness and the gift of renewal for the work we do. It’s like the gift we didn’t know to ask for but that we desperately need. Sabbath isn’t just an ancient practice, it’s for us too. Let’s rethink and re imagine the practice of sabbath keeping in our days ahead.
A Resource
A book: Sacred Rhythms by Ruth Haley Barton (excerpt below)
There have to be times to sit with your gratitude for the good gifts in your life that get forgotten in the rush.
To celebrate
and play
and roll down hills
and splash in water
and spread paint on paper or walls or each other.
There have to be times to sit and wait for the fullness of God that replenishes body, mind, and soul - if you can even stand to be so full. There has to be time for the fullness of time, or time is meaningless.
A Practice
Rethink the role of sabbath in your life
Think about what it would look like to practice a weekly sabbath if you are not already. Notice your longings and your resistance.
What would you need to do to prepare ahead of time? Delete some apps from your phone? prep an easy meal? Respond to emails the day before?
What conversations do you need to have with others in your household to make the practice life giving for everyone?
What activities would you choose to engage in and which will you put aside to practice more delight and rest?
After thinking over these questions set your attention on following through with the practice by choosing a day for the keeping of sabbath. Prayerfully move into that day not seeking perfection but seeking renewal and delight.
Sabbath keeping isn’t just a personal experience but can be communal and shared with others on the journey. I’d love to journey with you! You can hit reply to this email and keep the conversation going and share your thoughts and experiences with sabbath.
Thanks for reading! - Lindsay