I was recently reading a book by Marjorie Thompson, Soul Feast. In one chapter, she talks about the Sabbath as it relates to rest. She draws this great picture association. It looks something like this: work, work, work ……….. vacation vs. sabbath time ………… vocation.[1] In the biblical studies class I teach, we are always talking about how God established all things with a sense of order. Sabbath was not just a directive it was a part of creation. In a world that was made up of water, wind, and the Spirit of God, he not only designed creation to fill a specific space he made all of creation to work together as a system. A system that is perfect and that is interconnected.
When that connection is altered, as we see through the story of Adam and Eve, it is as if the world is off the axis. It is this centering of the axis that allows the world to move. Not only that it allows life for all things to exist in the sense that we know it. The sabbath is intended to provide us with rest. It also promotes a remembering of God. When we disregard this piece of creation and the role it is designed to play, we shift our role which is an integral part of the whole.
So, how do we restore this portion of our busy lives? That is the million-dollar question for sure! Rest is not any easy activity for us to participate in. We are always thinking of the next project at work or home. We are always running to some event. We even plan a forecast for the next five to ten years of our lives. I believe there are a few reasonable ways in which we can reestablish this part of the whole.
First, cut yourself some slack. Do not feel guilt over not doing it. Guilt creates anxiety and stress in every oracle of your body. Second, start small. Allow yourself the adjustment to a new lifestyle. Jumping in with a huge commitment often sets us up for failure. Third, make it a priority. When we place value on things, they become a standard. Eventually, we move life around these things and not these things around life. Finally, don’t give up. Continue to be consistent even when it is hard.
Simple steps ensure that you will regain this piece of healthcare for your body. Choose what is allowed to be in sabbath with you. The idea is rest. That means leaving behind those things that are not restful. When sabbath was established, we were still naked and living in the wilderness. Choose where this will occur (not getting naked and in the wilderness – solitude). Rest can happen anywhere. Do not create more work for yourself by filling sabbath with some predestined location or event (church is one of those things). I mention this idea about where because for my husband, who is a chief of a volunteer fire department and who lives within eyesight of the station, rest cannot typically occur at home.
Remember more than anything else that rest is not an activity, it is a lifestyle. Therefore, it might be a moment. It might be pulling off the side of the road to recenter through prayer or song. It should become such a natural part of our being that we desire it or feel a loss of it when it is missing. Jesus got into a boat or walked away alone. Sabbath restores us. It allows us to recall what God has and continues to do for us.
[1] Marjorie J. Thompson, Soul Feast (Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2014), 72.
Monica Swank 