Joy Together: Sabbath

 I recently finished reading a wonderful book Sabbath in the Suburbs, in which the author MaryAnn McKibben Dana made the statement that our calendars are spiritual documents - they are statements of faith and speak of what we place importance on. What does our calendar say about what we value? In other words, do we value Sabbath rest? 

The truth is for many,  Sabbath often gets pushed aside or forgotten. Or synonyms with “day off” which it is not. “Days off” are for errands. “Sabbath” is for simply being in the presence of God. On a recent “Sabbath” I went to a friends baby’s birthday party. It was a great day, but as I was driving home, feeling exhausted, I realized that it wasn’t Sabbath for me. I need to be restful in the presence of family and a few friends on Sabbath. Do the things I love and that reveal God to me. As nice as the party was, it was so many people and doing so many things to prepare, that it was simply a day off. A distinction that is often overlooked.

Sabbath is something different to each person who practices it because we all approach our relationship to the Holy differently. For me, the Sabbath needs to be a time of intentionally saying “yes” to God, and “yes” to my body’s needs. Its my time to let go and simply be. But when I reject it, or cannot practice it, when I try to control my life through the calendar all the time, I get so worn down that I don’t even realize it until I hit the point of exhaustion.

What would it look like for you (and me) to be  more intentional about having a weekly Sabbath every week, and working toward having an additional day off so those activities and needs don’t crowd the Sabbath?. We need time to play and have fun and simply be.A time to be reminded that there will always be more things to do, more work to be done, but that this is our gift from God to simply be in the presence of the Divine and appreciate the Holy. For if we do not practice it even once a week, how can we live a life focused on God?