My life has always been “busy.” Wife, mother of 2, pastor’s wife, educator…you name it, we do it. There have definitely been seasons that are busier than others, but last year I had realized that the busyness of my life was slowly destroying me. During Covid, many occupations and situations became 24-7 jobs. People could text, email, call, inquire at any time, on any day and since we all were in a constant state of crisis, then we felt like we should always be “on call.”
Unfortunately, the crisis mode of Covid, has continued and now it seems that many still live in this “crisis mode” wanting responses immediately. This can be with work, friendship, ministry, or just life in general. So last summer I knew I needed some help on creating a true Sabbath for my own physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being.
As a Christian, it is easy to say that Sunday needs to be our Sabbath in this culture. However, sometimes Sundays become busier than we want with service in ministry, showers, events, etc. I inquired about Sabbath and was referenced many books. On our family vacation I read both of the books below, determined to make my next school year different than the past.
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry
I loved this book! It didn’t just focus on the idea of a Sabbath but focused a lot on the whole idea of “hurry” and how that is the enemy of a spiritual life. It focuses on making the best use of our time and looking at how much time we actually have in our lives, but the distractions that take away from our time. Comer gives four practices for unhurrying our lives:
- Silence and Solitude-being hurried doesn’t leave us time to be present.
- Sabbath-means “to stop,” it’s more than just a day, it’s a way of being.
- Simplicity-materialism has stolen our time.
- Slowing-what we give our attention to is the person we become.
This book had so many practical ways to put into practice these ideas. It was an amazing read to help me quiet all the noise in my heart and truly find ways to focus on the Creator and enjoy Him!
24/6
This book focuses on the need to be “on” 24/7 and how that is not how God intended our lives to be. In the 10 Commandments, the only one that begins with “remember” is “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.” God knew this one would be one we would forget. He discusses how many of us believe that our work is our identity, but biblically speaking it should not define us. Here are a couple of quotes that stood out to me. “Fast paced lives leave less time for activities that build family and friendships. They may be so fast that they leave little time for either dining or the divine.” He discusses this need for instant response as well. “The average response time for an email is ninety minutes. The average response time for a text message is ninety seconds. Today, more than ninety percent of Americans keep their mobile phones with them 24/7.”
He goes on in the book to explain the importance of a Sabbath and practical ways to truly have one. He states that, “Sabbath is a time to transition from human doings to human beings.”
For me, I realized that I cannot always set aside a day for a Sabbath, but I did realize that I can typically set aside 24 hours. I started trying to designate 12:00 pm on Saturday to 12:00 pm on Sunday as my true Sabbath time. This worked really well. I would take a break from social media, leave my phone in the other room, etc. I would attempt to designate some time to sit outside alone. I have realized that if I don’t make this an intentional priority that quickly the worries of the world can drown this out. We have to place Sabbath as an important part of our lives and set aside the guilt that the world places on us. Our Creator longs for time with us and our hearts and minds deeply need it.
