A pastor friend of mine explained that he had to take a two-week vacation because it took him an entire week to wind down. Then he could enjoy the second week. How long does it take for your body to wind all the way down like a windup clock that stops only after the daily winding of it ceases?
When a body is practiced in Sabbath keeping, it can enter into unhurried peace at the drop of a hat—drifting off to sleep in a waiting room, soaking in the sun’s rays on a bench at a soccer field, enjoying stillness even when waiting at a traffic signal.
But in the beginning of developing such a habit, the body rebels. So we cultivate customary ways to “Sabbath” ourselves down—discovering the settings, the props, and the important preliminary steps that help (for example, not overscheduling ourselves). Don’t be concerned that your steps are small; just be determined to take them.
TODAY’S EXPERIMENT - Consider what your next step is in advancing a Sabbath practice for your body. What kind of solitude and silence are you ready to attempt: a morning without your cell phone, an afternoon in the park, a fast from all media for a week, a one-day retreat, an extended retreat?
At first, each of these may feel as if you’re giving up something precious, but it won’t take long to see that you have gained much more than you have given up. You will have given your body space to unlearn its tricks of hurry, competition, achievement, and manipulation. It will have tasted that sense of abiding with God.
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