Both my wife and I care for people; often at extreme high or low points in their life. I am a pastor and she is an ER nurse, and many of the best moments in our lives have come from the work we do. Often after a full month of work we stop and we find ourselves hoping for rest. The idea of two weeks in a cabin in the woods, or being stranded on a deserted island sounds like a picture of heaven for us some days.
If we are not careful, sometimes our labour can become toil. All too often a passion can become a burden and instead of being driven by what we love, the work we face drives us to places of exhaustion. Frequently our solution is a vacation, a master plan to get away from the chaos of our lives and work. Yet it’s rare that we return from a vacation truly rested, often it feels like a pause from the rat race happening all around us. Sometimes the burdens are too much and a few are ready to call it quits. They leave a job, or a marriage; anything to stop the rollercoaster. There has to be another rhythm to life than this.
Recently in my own family we have been exploring a different rhythm of life. It’s called ‘Sabbath.’ It is an ancient rhythm that shaped God’s people and their story in the bible. It is rooted in the beautiful belief that people are so much more than the work they do, and that rest is vital to our soul’s wellbeing. So once a week Sabbath calls people to stop. Stop fixing, making, going, and acquiring. It is a weekly rhythm that returns life to drained bodies, spent hearts, and strained relationships.
Sabbath has, at times, been misunderstood and abused. Many have forgotten that it is not a law or rule to impose on others, rather it is a gift. It is a reminder that we were not made to go-go-go. We are humans and God loves us enough to provide this space for us to just ‘be’.
Abraham Heschel wrote this about Sabbath, “There is a realm of time where the goal is not to have but to be, not to own but to give, not to control but to share, not to subdue but to be in accord. Life goes wrong when the control of space, the acquisition of things of space, becomes our sole concern.” His wisdom rings true today. Sabbath is an ancient rhythm of delight, of pleasure, of finding peace with God and each other again.
The truth is that I do not know how to do Sabbath well. This true posture of rest is nearly impossible when I look at our crazy schedule – and that’s the most telling part. I need to find a rhythm of work that leads to a weekly day of rest. Not just a ‘day off’ to get everything done, but truly a 24 hour period where we are being renewed.
So we decided that we would start small. We would book off a day of true rest once a month, then work up from there. Sabbath is a deeply counter-cultural rhythm of life in a world that values productivity. But I am starting to see that God may have understood our deepest needs when he gave the gift of Sabbath. May we all rediscover the deep value of our time rather than the value of our stuff. May we delight in, and stand in awe of, the lives we have been given, and the people who share this life with us.
