A gold finch and a hummingbird are both feeding outside my dining room window this morning. I’m glad to be home and relaxing on my mid-week day off from work. I will pull more weeds in the garden later (they are endless) but for now I rest a bit. Sabbath comes in small moments for me, put together over time. I realize that God intended it to be a whole day once a week but life doesn’t work that way anymore. Maybe it never did. Maybe people in the past were just more cognizant of the need to stop for a day to regroup.
Keeping the Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments, after all. Most people think of them as the ten rules to follow. “Rules” translate as “Burdens”. But I don’t see them this way. At first glance, they may seem burdensome but which of them is harmful? Each one of them benefits the person who follows it and everyone around that person benefits too. American society and our Constitution were built on most of these rules.
If I personally kept the Sabbath, I would not be so tired when I returned to work the next day. My mind would be refreshed by thoughts other than what I had to do next. Maybe I would read more, pray more, have more deep conversations, love more. The list goes on and on. God knows that you and I need rest so He put this command in His Top Ten Set of Rules, not for His benefit but for ours. Instead of listening and obeying, we get caught up in the race to do more and have more and miss out on the blessings right in front of us.
I doubt that I will truly have a whole day for Sabbath until I retire but I can try to capture moments just like this to rest. Writing is my Sabbath. But it’s so difficult to find the time to just do it. In the morning, before the rush of things hit me, I write. I started this five years ago and I have filled many journals over that time. This is my therapy. To write is to slow down enough to compose my thoughts. It’s a rest from the rush.
Sabbath is not just a day set aside on Saturday or Sunday. It’s a mindset to pause for a reset. Allow yourself to be filled with…”whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things” (Philippians 4:8). Rest from the craziness of the world around you and set your heart and mind on what is holy. I am convinced that this is the only way to remain sane and not get so caught up in all the negative rhetoric thrown at us from every direction that we lose hope. Sabbath is a gift. But, no matter what the gift, it is not useful unless it is opened up and enjoyed. Find your Sabbath and let it fill you with needed rest for your soul.
