Sabbath Rest
I spent yesterday feeling shell-shocked. After enjoying an unusually quiet week with just one small child and my husband in Palm Springs, I scrambled to remember how in the world I used to fill the role of mom for five children. By breakfast time on Saturday I felt scattered, frazzled and edgy. While I had pictured fully appreciating my children after a time apart, I found myself entertaining thoughts like: Are my children always this LOUD? Does the washing machine EVER stop running? Is there an end to all these dishes? Do they REALLY need to eat AGAIN? Why can’t they talk ONE at a time? ARE ALL OF THESE CHILDREN MINE? Just a mere twelve hours after arriving home, I wondered if I’d ever left at all! Where was the “soul rest” I’d blogged about just days before?
Today, I woke thankful for God’s ingenious “invention” of the Sabbath- no hurry, no to-do’s, and thankfully, no laundry. The kids and I spent the afternoon savoring the crisp fall weather with basketball matches on the driveway, a walk on the lake path near our home, and scooter races about the neighborhood. And as I tucked all five into bed tonight with a fresh and unfrazzled soul, I found myself thinking that Sabbath can be like a mini “vacation” every week. I think that’s what King David was talking about when he penned Psalm 23- He (God) lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength (verse 2-3). Perhaps the man after God’s own heart understood the “green meadow principle” that I discovered last week in Palm Springs: In order to receive the joy of the Lord, we must make time to enjoy the Lord.
Small children seem to be born with an innate understanding of this simple concept. Without being told, a child takes time to savor the things of God. A little boy delights in tossing rocks in the stream simply to hear the watery “plop” and clap his hands as he counts the ripples that follow. A little girl spots a wildflower, pauses to pick it and place it daintily in her hair for the sheer thrill of letting God’s beauty splash onto her. A child does not hurry past a worm on the sidewalk or a butterfly on a flower. I’ll never forget trying to hurry Lizzy on to swimming lessons one gorgeous fall day when she was four years old. As I packed the van with the swimbag, I noticed Lizzy sitting motionlessly on the sidewalk, crouched on her haunches, her face hidden in the late afternoon shadows of the oak trees that lined the street.
“Honey, we’ve got to get going. We’re going to be late for swimming lessons,” I warned.
“But, Mommy,” she pleaded, “I found this fuzzy caterpillar on the sidewalk and I’m watching to see if it’s going to turn into a butterfly!”
As little Lizzy so aptly understood, we desperately need to set aside time to enjoy the Lord and all His hands have made. If we are willing to wait, our harried hearts just may be transformed into something beautiful.
I’m not sure if I’ll ever visit Palm Springs again, but I can :get away” from my daily grind each time I embrace the Sabbath. And I’m learning that my heart overflows with SPRINGS of joy when I drink deeply from the Fountain of life! (Psalm 36:9)
Today’s Treasure: The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.. my cup OVERFLOWS with blessings.
-Psalm 23:1
