Sabbath

Today was a very different sort of day for me.

I had absolutely NO plans.

None.

Zero.

Zip.

And so, as I woke up around 11am, tidied some things up in my living room and kitchen, and moped around with no set plans, I realized something very significant about my life.

I have a really hard time "doing" sabbath.

I woke up today discouraged because of how late I had slept in. When not having a set "agenda" for the day, I found myself searching for things to do. I thought to myself, "maybe I can work on this job application or send out these references." I questioned, "what sort of things can I do now to prepare myself for a few months from now?" I just wasn't content with doing "nothing." I found myself saying, "if I don't find something to do, I'll have WASTED my day!"

I wonder what God thinks when he sees me wrestling with celebrating a sabbath day. As part of one of the creation stories, God creates and celebrates a sabbath day himself:

• "By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done" (Genesis 2:2-3).

If a sabbath day is "good enough" for God, it SURE AS WELL should be "good enough" for me! The Bible shares that God blessed the day, making it holy. Celebrating sabbath (rest) is not only important, it's a biblical command:

• "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy" (Exodus 20:8).

I've always struggled with celebrating sabbath regularly. As I've shared in previous blogs, throughout the school year, I thrive off of my "scheduled" lifestyle. I find pleasure in heading to the gym before most of my peers pull themselves out of bed, counting the number of "things" I accomplished that day, and setting goals for the completion of tasks throughout the remaining days of the week. Although I realize it's not the healthiest lifestyle in the least bit, I find myself "doing" and "going."

"Doing" and "going?" Didn't I just write about not wanting to define my lifestyle by those things?

Today, I felt challenged by the phrases I'm remembering from my last post: " It's so easy as leaders to go, go, go and do, do, do. But God is calling us to be, be, be."

Today was definitely a day "to be."


Once I accepted that today was a blessing from God, I took some time to sit in front of my large sliding glass window watching the snow fall as I journaled, prayed, and read some scripture. I'm not sure how long I sat there. It might not have even been that long, but time didn't make a difference. I remember some time later one of my roommates, Teira returning from her trip home, and us both sitting in front of the window together. For the first time in a long time, "T" and I had conversation about "everything and anything." We talked about class assignments, family, games, and most often, God, church, and some spiritual questions. I've missed my time with T; it's one of the reasons why I was thankful we would be taking an interim together. I really valued our time together today. It helped remind me of how blessed l I am to have her as a friend.

For one of the first times while at school, I truly felt as if I were celebrating the sabbath. My thoughts were not distracted with scheduled activities and I felt no burden to quickly return to my homework. Time for myself, time with God, time with a best friend; I need to remember that the sabbath truly is a day to be celebrated!

As my devo dared this morning, I hope that I can continue to challenge myself to "carve out a rhythm (including a sabbath time) that renews me." I want to one day be able to celebrate my "no plans-Saturday." I no longer want my evaluation of a "good day" to be measured by the amount of tasks I've accomplished. I want my days to be holy.