Yep. I'm repreaching another one... but goll darn it if the man doesn't pull out something totally relevant to my life every week, so here I go.
I know I took last week off from Sabbath (did you catch the irony there?) to talk about The Wastefulness of God, but I'm back in the Sabbath Saddle to round out this series. If you missed these and want to click over real quick, the first post, A Frenzied, Triple A-Type Personality's Battle With Sabbath -- Part 1: What I Thought and What It's Not, speaks to all of us who thought Sabbath was the Divine Directive to spend three hours in church every Sunday (quiet and still) and then come home and take a nap -- just to go back for Round Two at 6:00 if you're Pentecostal. The second post, A Frenzied, Triple A-Type Personality's Battle With Sabbath -- Part 2: What I Stole From My Pastor To Write This Post, may or may not address the crazies (yeah, I said it) who would like to reign us all into their narrow and allegedly irrefutable beliefs about how we should walk and talk and whistle and chew gum and particularly how we should observe Sabbath.
But here are four things Pastor Jim... (PJ for short? HA! That's hilarious. I hope he's not reading this--sometimes he gets on this blog which is unnerving for me, but here we are) suggested were more in line with God's true intentions for us so that we could enjoy the gift that this is:
Engage the senses.
I can get behind that. Seriously. Look around. Turn off the news and your phone, go outside and be in awe of the world God made for us. If you live someplace ugly, get in the car and drive. Find a park. Sit in the grass. Smell the flowers. Listen to the birds. Breathe in the air. Eat a taco. Watch the people. There's probably a story in there somewhere. Enjoy it. Enjoy it all. Find your warm, chewy center. Do it again next week.
Lose all track of time.
Get so lost in your relaxation in that park (or that beach if you're lucky) that you don't even know what time it is, nor do you even care. I know this goes against every fiber of your being if you are a AAA-Type Personality like I am. But do it. Your stress levels from the other six days of insanity will mellow out, and you'll soon get hooked on chilling like this every week. You totally have permission to do this.
Eat with people you love.
Now THIS is my love language! FOOD! If I am feeding you, that means I love you. And if you're eating at my table, that means you love me. Do we really ever get to know people if you've never eaten with them? I know I don't. Communal feasting is legit. But it's only legit if you remember one thing: Sabbath is not the day you try to work on those unhealthy relationships, so it doesn't necessarily have to be your relatives sitting around your table every week or you sitting around theirs. Don't feel obligated because of familial ties. This is not what observing Sabbath is all about. Work on those relationships the other six days of the week if the Spirit leads. Sabbath is for rest. Sometimes that means rest from difficult people. Be with people who lift you up and for whom you do the same. You totally have permission to do this too.
PLAY!
Isn't this nuts? I don't even know if I remember how to play. Or if I've ever actually played. Truly. Of these four, this is the one I struggle with the most. Playing. But do we not have so much to get done the other six days? Don't we just walk around life too darned seriously? Take a break from being so deliberate and driven and just PLAY!
I'm talking to me.
Because, honestly, as PJ reminds us... err... Reverend Halbert... The fact that we can let go and breathe life in, lose track of time, eat with our loved ones, and just play really demonstrates that we trust God enough to let it all go. All of it.
I will never feel the same about Sabbath again after hearing these sermons. So thanks, Jim, if you're reading this.
Surrender is so freeing.
Daisy Rain Martin is an author, speaker, advocate, and educator as well as a founding member of The Flying M-Inklings Writing Group. She lives with her husband, Sean-Martin, in the beautiful state of Idaho and teaches English and Literature during the school year to the best 7th graders the world over. Daisy spends her summers writing, speaking, researching, creating, gardening, and canning. Hope Givers: Hope is Here, is the sequel, of sorts, to her comedic, spiritual memoir, Juxtaposed: Finding Sanctuary on the Outside, which was her publisher's (Christopher Matthews) #1 top selling book in 2012. She has also written a free e-book for anyone who has or is currently being sexually abused called, If It’s Happened to You, which appears in its entirety in Hope Givers. Please follow her weekly blog, SATURDAISIES, which addresses a plethora of current issues including child advocacy, all things hilarious, and matters of the heart. She would love for you to join the Rainy Dais Community by friending her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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