Pursuing Rest

Two snow days this week were a real treat. There's just something about those unexpected holidays. It's an unspoken rule that these are not days to catch up on chores but days designed for loafing. Barry and I went outside for a little while on Tuesday to throw some snowballs and walk, but then we snuggled in for the rest of the day watching the snow fall, drinking hot chocolate and watching wet, red-faced children traipse in and out.

Monday was MLK holiday. Tuesday and Wednesday were snow days. Thursday was a two-hour delay. (For those of you who live outside of the south, you can tell that we Southerners are a little psycho about snow. We love it, but we have no idea how to handle it. So we stay inside until it's almost ALL GONE!) This morning I drug myself out of bed in the dark sure that I had goofed up my alarm clock and that it was the middle of the night. How can I be so tired after so much rest?

Rest has been on my mind a lot recently. It's a topic that I've read about, written about and spoken about, but I still haven't quite grasped the reality of it in my own life. I'm one of those people whose mind is never at rest. My thoughts race in all my waking hours. Don't get me wrong. They're not always anxious thoughts (that's usually reserved for the wee hours of the morning). My mind is just active--evaluating the last conversation, planning my grocery list, pondering scripture... My brain works on the minute to the magnificent all the time. It usually takes 2-3 days of vacation to feel my thoughts slow and my body relax.

In BSF, we're studying the life of Moses this year. Over and over again Exodus has hit me full in the face with the concept of Sabbath rest. From the beginning of creation, God has been very clear about the value that He has given the Sabbath. God Himself, the tireless One, rested on the seventh day. It is so important that God included it in His Top-10 rules. It's also amazing that as He gave direction about beginning work on the Tabernacle to the Israelites, He began with an admonition about resting on the Sabbath even during this important, dead-line driven task. Over and over again scripture gives direction about Sabbath rest.

But we live in America--land of the the 24-hour Walmart and a drive-thru, fast food mentality. Long gone are the Blue Laws of my girlhood. Our culture has no recognized day of rest. The American work ethic has gone mad and drown out God's call for the Sabbath. As Christians, do we hear the call? It's loud and clear in scripture. How do we respond?

God's been calling me toward Sabbath for quite a while. I want to respond with joy and not just legalism. I believe that one baby-step that I'm being called to requires some accountability, so I'm telling you. I'm not turning on my laptop on Sundays any more. Shocking! Some of you might laugh, but I'm fairly addicted to this piece of equipment. I read someplace about the endorphins that are release every time we read a new piece of information. If that's true, then I'm on endorphin overload. I don't believe that using a computer on Sunday is sin for everyone, but I'm beginning to see that it is for me. It turns my restless thoughts to everything and anything but God. I want my thoughts on Sundays to be turned on Him and His work--reflecting on it all at the end of the week and recognizing what is truly good.

It's a small step, but it's a first step. Like I said, I don't want to get legalistic about the Sabbath, but I do want to be obedient. I'm ready for a change. I'm ready for some deep rest. How about you? Do you have any words of wisdom for me? What are some ways that you've set aside the Sabbath as a holy day of rest?