Sabbath Question Number Two: "How Will I Rest?"

So, I've already answered question number 1: "What will I stop?" 

And, last week, I did stop. No work on writing. No work on my Shopify store, thinking about getting another announcement out to friends." 

No asking, "What SHOULD I be doing, or what COULD I be doing, or what WOULD I like to do right now?" Those are questions for the other six days. 

Now I'm ready for question number 2: "How will I rest today?" 

The question takes me back to the first chapter in the Bible, and I'm reminded of the amazing power of God as Creator. He made everything, step by step, and I'm astonished at the depth, breadth, and length of the creation. I'm in a small place, a quiet space, but the simple words of that chapter lift me beyond the immediacy of my surroundings. The first part of "restoration" is "rest."

Coming back from our early morning walk just now, the slightly freezing atmosphere left a sheen on sidewalks and roadways. I captured the six-inch square pattern of tiny particles of ice on the hood of a car parked close by. (See picture above.) Resting involves taking in the details of life in a slightly different way. Resting restores my ability to slow down, to appreciate the simplest things of life.

Examining that minuscule world of crystals takes me back to a place where I find rest. I can travel the world through the lenses of world-famous photographers. Many hours of music are loaded on my computer through YouTube. Sometimes, it arrives as Christian hymns, some are well-known classical compositions, and others the joy of creative, contemporary inspiration. I love watching the world through the eyes of other men and women, people who waited hours for a single shot.

In this way, one hour might take me through the glory of mountain pinnacles and waterfalls, along the precipitous cliffs where ocean waves collide against the land. Birds tweet, owls stare, lizards shake their tongues, snakes crawl, giraffes scratch each other's long necks, flowers dance in the wind, clouds burst open and hang onto momentary rainbows before they wash away, tiny sparkling streams mature into wide, meandering rivers, and an entire night's sky is reduced to a two-minute display of unspeakable glory and majesty. Unbelievable that all of this is only a stroke of the keyboard away from me.

Oh, how much beauty the world has to share on a restful day! 

I choose to rest. The beguiling world of political commentary will wait another day, while the slower rhythm of five or six all-too-familiar songs gives way to a children's story and an exposition that takes me back to contemplate the Hand of the Eternal One who created this warm, welcoming, tiny globe floating through an endless, cold, foreboding space.

And then, beyond contemplation and worship, the renewal of relationships affords rest. On the Seventh Day, God rested, and then he walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden. 

Aren't relationships the sweetest part of the creation? Aren't they also, as Adam learned watching the quarrel between his sons, that which banishes sleep while tossing and turning nurtures stress and disappointment?

So, the phone will ring, or we'll call someone. After a noon-time nap, with the restoration that brings, we make connections. Figuratively, we'll walk with family and friends, perhaps not on the same street, and not always in the same timezone. We've learned that laughter, happy family news, pictures of our 13 year old's latest cake decoration, or our almost-three-year-old's developing vocabulary, even shared sad events, hopes, and dreams all add up to "Great Gain." 

Those final two words are our THEME for the year (See a previous blog post), and by the end of the day, we've found we are restored. Resting, seeking godliness, and being content have brought us great gain.