I will never forget the first time I saw her in person. The first time I actually got to HEAR her voice. Soft-spoken and with a cadence and slight accent I couldn’t place, yet I could listen to her talk all day. But before I met her in person, before I’d heard her voice, I subscribed to her blog and read her writing regularly. She wrote a lot about rest and observing Sabbath. I knew of the Sabbath Society and longed to be a part of it, but I knew I couldn’t do it “right.” Stopping at sundown on Saturday, not washing dishes, not cooking…that wasn’t going to work for me.
Finally, I got bold enough to email her and ask how does one do Sabbath if one can’t do it right? And the answer I received from her changed my life.
And changed the way I viewed rest.
Shelly wrote back, “it will look different for everyone. Find ways that work for you. Look for ways to build minutes, days and hours of rest into your week.”
I don’t have to do it like everyone else – YES! I began to find pockets of time in my days that allowed me to just be.
There have been days that I have chosen to do nothing. I have rested ALL day and it was glorious. But most of my rest days are partial days. Bits of time snatched here and there that make up my Sabbath rest.
I have come a long way in the days, months and years since that email response from Shelly, but I continually learn about rest and how to incorporate it into my life. And the good thing about this for you, my reader friend, is this: I can save you a lot of time and put you ahead of the learning curve!
Shelly has written a book called Rhythms of Rest. I’ve had the chance to read the book before it is released next month. Shelly takes us on her personal journey of learning to rest. Observing Sabbath in a way that works for her and her family and yet, she points out that how she rests and observes Sabbath is the NOT the only way to do it.
When we rest our minds and bodies, we have time to see, hear, and feel what is going on around us. And what is going on around us might be more important than the work we think needs to be done.
These days my rest looks different than it did a few years ago. I do not usually take a full day. I might cook a meal with my husband because that is something we enjoy doing together and brings me joy. I may or may not cut ties with social media for a full day, but I find ways to cut back during the week.
Rest is something that seems to elude us as we get older. We feel we need to do more, be more, and get more. Shelly writes, “Sabbath is a life raft Jesus extends to use every week to prevent us from drowning in our work.”
Are you climbing into the life raft or drowning?
What can you do to make your Sabbath details different than the rest of your week?
You can purchase Shelly’s book on Amazon.
If you head over to her blog, she has a lot of giveaways!
I love your story of “finding” Sabbath! I have been practicing Sabbath for several years now, and I never thought it would be so uplifting. I agree that Shelly Miller’s book “Rhythms of Rest” is so helpful in understanding and finding our own Sabbath.
Great post Mary. Very encouraging. I really needed to hear this now as I have been moving in the opposite direction of “rest” this month.
Enjoy your weekend!