Sabbath

For many years, we were like just about everybody else: unconsciously forsaking honest soul rest, always going, with overfilled calendars and little to show in the category of true rest and simple delight. Sundays were much like other days, packed with activity and low on rest, restoration, or sacred space.

Out of immense pain and burnout, we began our recovery and eventually chose to cultivate a lifestyle fueled by weekly and annual sabbath. One day a week is now a no-fly zone in our house. We don’t do things that aren’t somehow connected to Eden and the restoration of all things. These days are set aside for conversation, space, and any sorts of activities that allow us to hit pause on all the “not yet” and “not done,” choosing to delight in the goodness of the life we have experienced in God.

In general when we sabbath, the cell phones are off, we don’t schedule things, we wake up and linger, and we play and take our time. It annoys friends and frustrates people who can’t find us (but I believe it’s my ministry to them now). It takes immense courage to stop and settle in, because you’re never done. One buddy lamented this afternoon, “I will die with emails in my in-box.”

When do you truly stop and settle in? Not because the work is done, but because you have become the kind of person who is able to value a pause — and even more, a celebration, right within the “unfinished” — as fuel for the soul?


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