Sabbath

Every summer my family goes to Pine Cove for Family Camp.  Hands down, no questions, it's the best week of our year.  It's a great time to hang together, do fun things (hello zipline!), connect, learn, be encouraged, play, laugh, and generally recharge.

I call it Sabbath.

Having gone for several years now, I can feel my soul building toward it.  It's like when I get down to 5 minutes left riding the bike at the YMCA.  I look down, know that I'm going to make it, and so keep going until I can rest.

Family Camp is like that for me, in particular.  It's rest and encouragement and connection.  Sabbath.  I have this sense in my soul that it's coming.  It will be a big, "Whew!"  Sabbath.

I reread the 10 Commandments several times last week in preparation for last Sunday's sermon.  One of the things that caught my eye in light of what my soul could sense and my calendar said was coming was that part about remembering the Sabbath and keeping it holy.  I think there's a lot to be said about Sabbath as a principle (not necessarily a day).  We work hard.  But we also need rest.

But what kind of rest?

Sabbath was primarily three things.  Shooting for these three is a great goal every week.  Sabbath was first about God, connecting with Him, worshipping Him, and hearing from Him.  Keep it holy.  It's about God.  Sabbath was also about rest.  No labor.  No work.  No laptops.  No email.  No Blackberry.  Take a nap.  Go on a walk.  It's a beautiful reminder that the world goes on without us, that we're really small, not all that essential.  We remember that we actually have a soul.  We also get to remember that we are loved more than we can imagine and it has nothing to do with what we can accomplish.  Finally, Sabbath was about family.  Not only should I not work, but I can't lay it off on my kids either.  I'm supposed to be with them.  In those moments, I also get to speak of who God is and what He's done.  Sabbath.  It's worth it.  And it's commanded.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...