Sabbathing

Do you keep the Sabbath? 

Keep the Sabbath day holy.
      Don’t pursue your own interests on that day,
   but enjoy the Sabbath
      and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day.
   Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day,
      and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly.
Then the Lord will be your delight.
      I will give you great honor
   and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob.
      I, the Lord, have spoken!

Lately I have been mindful that this is an important spiritual discipline...more than that even if you want to take these words seriously (which I sure do). 

I used to do this pretty regularly and I probably take one day off in seven on average anyway. What I realized though is that I dont put much effort or forethought into that "day off." So thats all it becomes a day off, away from, as if I am pulling away from all the things that define me, define my life, my identity. And I realized thats pretty sad. And thats not the way Sabbath is supposed to work. 

Sometimes I have to be a staff worker to myself. :) 

Often I am so burnout and exhausted from work...or lets face it, home (Do any of you ever think you need a day just to catch up on "homework"? I wish I could get paid for doing laundry, dishes, or grocery shopping) that I end up collapsing onto the couch and spending my "day off" watching TV, all day. 

Sure I get up to feed myself and my husband, go work out, check my email. But its like I put life on hold and by the end of the day I don't usually feel particularly rested, maybe just less eager to watch TV. 

Dont get me wrong...I'm not saying TV is bad...thats probably a whole other conversation saved for later. 

This is what I realized and have been reflecting on the last week: 

The Israelites were freed from captivity in Egypt by the Lord, and when he led them into the wilderness he established some rules. Rules to live by, not to perish or die by. He also provided for their every need. Seriously, sometimes I wish manna was deposited on my front doorstep (again, can I get anyone to do my grocery shopping for me?)

God told the Israelites to gather just enough for each day, except the day before Sabbath. They were instructed to gather enough for two days before the Sabbath, so that they could rest and eat (since God practices what he preaches and observes the Sabbath himself by not sending manna that day). 

When I go about each day I gather more than I need...seriously, you should see my to-do lists. I know every time I make a new one for a new day there is way more on that thing than I can honestly or realistically get done. But I try to bite it off anyway. Not good. I gather more manna than I need, and it rots away. I depend upon the Lord to help me get through the week and harvest what little seeds I plant. *I know this is not a perfect one-to-one correlary or a perfect scriptural interpretation, but  its what stuck with me.* 

But I have not planned for my Sabbaths, at all, whatsoever. I do not depend upon the Lord on this day. I hardly even give it a thought. (You should see my calendar - so much crap! - but not one day marked as rest.) I do not plan when it will be or give careful thought to how I will spend that rest. 

I am not saying I should plan out every aspect of my Sabbath. I'm a planner by nature...I already know a rest from planning is called for on my Sabbath day. :) But if I don't give at least a general, broad kind of preparation...if I don't gather my manna the day before...I will continue to starve each and every time that seventh day comes around. 

Starving yourself every seventh day may not kill you, but I know its not pleasant, and being married to a medical student I am pretty sure it could lead to some kind of medical ailment. 

So I've tried to start gathering enough...each day. Not too much on my plate during the week, and giving some forethought to that seventh day. I started using this resource:  http://examen.me/ and Drew and I have found a church we love that has been teaching us alot about spiritual discipline. Its been a great way to embrace rest each Sunday. 

Give me your thoughts...