I don't know about you, but this quarantine mess is having a bit of a groundhog day effect on me and my family. Yesterday, we had take out pad thai and watched a movie. That's a Friday thing for us, but we have begun to say, "Why not? It's Friday, isn't it?" Then we laugh and just go with it - because laughing makes us feel less trapped.
But today is Wednesday and I woke up ready for it to be over. So I'm taking the day off today. I didn't take a Sabbath last Sunday and I'm paying for it physically today.
But, a rest day is so worth doing - or not doing but just having?
And, in spite of myself, I found myself learning something powerful today. I stared at flowers longer and really saw them. I actually tasted my food and enjoyed it, and found I wasn't snacking all day, anxiously looking for something food was never meant to provide. The few things I have done just for the joy of it actually gave me, well, joy.
I haven't entertained "shoulds" today. I've rested and only done anything I did do from a place of rest.
So, here's my big "aha!"
A couple of months ago, I was chatting with my friend, Jed. We love to spur each other on. Somewhere in the context of diving deep, he said that he heard a teaching about the Sabbath. In the Hebrew week, the Sabbath is the beginning of the week. This is wildly significant. Sabbath is REST. So if the foundation of the week is REST, that means it's the place everything is done from. It's the vessel from which all my efforts are poured out.
Can you see what a game changer that is?
If I clean my house from a place of peace, how will my house feel?
If I spend money from a place a rest and trust, what will my bank account look like? Not just on the surface, but if I am at rest/peace with who God says I am, what things would I happily forego simply because I don't need that item to make me more acceptable? Do I really love it? Fine. But I won't be buying it just to keep up. I can totally enjoy it in the catalog, but I don't get that anxious feeling about it. Does that make sense?
And today, I've been taking time to think. My thoughts don't have to produce anything today. They just get to play. The result? I don't feel so crowded in my head. And my thoughts actually get a moment to unfold like a flower, rather than being shot out like bullets. In fact, my words have been kinder, both to my family and to myself.
I can hear the Lord call me "beloved" today because I didn't rush through that verse in
I John 3 to get my reading quota done. I'm just reading restfully, day dreaming about it, napping on it. And just now, I'm thinking how one of the sweetest things about being in love is that completely quiet moment where words aren't needed and time stands still.
THAT is Sabbath, I think. That sparkling, warm, full rest where time holds more than just minutes. Yes, I'm pretty sure of it.
love,
Lydia C
©2020 Lydia D Crouch