Sabbath Rest

We attended a Couples Retreat this week with new friends from our church. I discovered pine trees and mountains in the middle of Arizona and enjoyed near perfect weather with beautiful Fall days and nights. The topic for the retreat was Connecting with the Sacred. Our speaker encouraged us in one session to think about the Sabbath and God’s demonstration by his own pattern in creation of taking one day to rest. What is your usual Sunday schedule? As a child, I remember the whole day filled with church activities interspersed with maybe a nap, reading a favorite book, or visiting with family. Stores were closed, no sports on TV – the day was quiet. Can you imagine a world like that today? Now Sunday is often catch-up day: chores of laundry, shopping, yard work, or bills…and, don’t forget to catch the morning service at church, almost as an after thought. Time is a precious commodity but taking a breather must be part of our schedule including time to rest with our Heavenly Father. It seems reasonable to me that if a field profits from a year to lie fallow every seven years so that the soil can regenerate, our bodies, minds and souls also need time off once a week. Yet, we think we can’t afford the time. The fact is we must take the time. Taking a day to listen with our hearts to those we love brings balance back to the relationship increasing communication during the week. Spiritual fine-tuning occurs enabling us to match our heartbeats with the heartbeat of the Father. The rhythm of life is put back in sync. Monday morning hits and we are off and running again but with renewed energy and purpose. So as the weekend approaches, Remember that the Sabbath Day belongs to me. Exodus 20:8 (Contemporary English Version)