"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him for He cares for you." (1Peter 5:6-7)
I knew that Sabbath-keeping was hard...I just didn't know it would be so humbling.
So far, it hasn't become any easier to carve out 24 hours our of 168 to focus on God and my relationship with Him as well as my relationship with those that God has called me to love. Life just gets in the way. So much of Sabbath seems to be, at least at this point, logistics.
Yes, my wife and I are still working on our kitchen project. That thorn in our flesh became the focus of most of our day Saturday. Then, I was called to go in to work for a couple of hours. By the end of the day, I was tired. I needed to rest.
It was about seven o'clock when the family reconnoitered in the living room. To start our Sabbath, we watched, "Soul Surfer" and then fielded some questions about why sharks would attack kids. Our son, Isaac, suggested, "Some day, sharks and swimmers will get along just like the lion will lay down with the lamb." What a glorious day that will be!
Before Sunday morning broke upon the city, I snuck out of the house and paddled for about an hour on the river. It was beautiful watching the sun come out, over the the skyline as the water flowed silently all around following the still small voice that led it always to its destination. "The Lord separated the light and the dark," I mused in the silent crescendo of the first day. Then, a little fish jumped out of the water, into my boat, and on to my lap! I nearly capsized myself in astonishment. Maybe I still had the previous night's movie in my mind, but I called it a morning and headed for terra firma.
There was a bit of stress served with out breakfast Sunday morning. My wife calls getting ready for church, "the unholy hour." We arrived at church a little early because she was scheduled to preach, but found out when we arrived that the schedule had been changed and she was preaching next Sunday. The hard part was over. We were there, so we went to church and Sunday school anyway. The other preacher was good and we had communion together as a family.
After church, we had to hustle home and make ready for twenty guests including a gaggle of elementary children and their families. Our boys had made a switch to a new school and we wanted to help make the transition a little easier for them by getting to know a few of the students and their families a little better.
We had a quick lunch and began to straighten up the house, clean the porch, prepare yard games, and button things down for the approaching hurricane. It takes work to prepare the fatted calf and I found myself grumbling and resenting this grand imposition of my time. The Sabbath was my time to read, my time to write, and my time to take a nap if need be while watching football. None of that happened. Instead, my selfish heart was exposed.
I was reminded that Sabbath really isn't about my relationship with myself anyway but with my relationship with God and my family and my neighbor. I needed to cool my jets and roll up my sleeves. I needed to cease my striving and my planning and sacrifice those conversations around the coffee pot at work regarding games I did not have a chance to see. I had to die to myself so that our third-grader could have some new friends over from a new school.
I was humbled, I believe, under the mighty hand of God.
And we had a great time and we met some great families and ate some great food. Isaac, our shark whisperer, came up to his mother after the party, bear hugged her, and said, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much for having this awesome party!"
I hope, as a result of a little house-cleaning and party-planning, our sons might have a little bit easier week...maybe even an "exalted" one.
I know that I will.
Church Stopping. Less doing. More being.
Photo from www.sxc.hu #166502
No comments:
Post a Comment