Follow Up — A Walk In The Woods — The Rich Experiences of a Poor Man’s Sabbatical

It’s true, “Sabbath keeping is a discipline that will mess with you, because once you move beyond just thinking about it and actually begin to practice it, the goodness of it will capture you, body, soul and spirit. You will long to wake up to a day that stretches out in front of you with nothing in it but rest and delight.” ~ Ruth Haley Barton

Equally true, without intentionality Sabbath never happens. Jesus continues to woo us with this invitation; “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  Matthew 11:28-30 ESV

As I reflect on my recent mini-sabbatical, a break from familiar routines to take a walk in the woods, I am grateful for the past larger life lessons centering on this age old, God prescribed practice of Sabbath rest. In journaling, below are a few reflections I offer.

Sabbath keeping is more than just taking a day of rest; it is a way of ordering one’s life around a pattern of rest, from which then productive work flows. Periodically hitting life’s reset button provides sanity and rhythm to our otherwise overcrowded lives.

Fair warning, this seemingly extravagant gift of self-care can bring rise to an inner-voice of dissonance, especially to the populace voice of do more, be more. And as I distanced myself from the noise of the world, and stilled my spirit, I began to sense another voice, an inner-voice, the voice of the Spirit inviting me to come away, to rest.

Unplugging from the entanglements that so often restrain me, I found space, space to breathe and space to just be. This void initially ushered in feelings of frustration and thoughts of inconvenience. No phone signals. No wifi. No air conditioning. No sleep level bed. No Keurig morning coffee. Silly sounding I know, but true!

Yet, with more time, more distance, more rest, as my body and soul began to slow, there emerged a newfound sense of inspiration. For me this tends to happen when  am out of doors and enjoying the beauty of God’s creation. A star filled sky absent of city lights, a morning sunrise, the quietness of the woods, the curiousness of forrest animals, the chilled water of a rushing spring, a thick canopy of towering trees.

As my mind begins to wander, with no place to be in particular, it feels freeing and I do have the thought, why has it been so long since my last walk in the woods.

Feeling grateful,

Jim

PS — Perhaps you would like to consider your own time of planned rest. Below is some wonderful information from author Ruth Haley Barton who has written extensively on this topic and offers some helpful direction. Enjoy!

SHAPING SABBATH TIME: WHAT TO INCLUDE 

Resting the body. What are the activities that rest and replenish your body? The invitation of Sabbath time is to replace the time you would normally spend working with activities that you find restorative: a nap, a walk, a bike ride, a long bubble bath, eating your favorite foods (no dieting on the Sabbath), sitting in the sun, lighting candles, listening to beautiful music, lovemaking. In Jewish tradition, Winner points out; married couples get rabbinical brownie points for having sex on the Sabbath. You’ve gotta love a religion like that!

Replenishing the spirit. Another invitation of the Sabbath is to pay attention to what replenishes the spirit and choose only those activities that renew you and bring you joy Obviously, this is highly personal to each one of us; it is amazing to have permission to pay attention to what delights you and choose that on this day As you explore this aspect of Sabbath, pay close attention to those activities that merely stimulate you or serve as fillers and those things that really replenish you. Usually television and most things technological are not really replenishing; they are merely distractions from God’s more meaningful gifts.

My favorite thing to do on the Sabbath is quite simple. In my office I have a really comfortable couch right in front of a sunny window facing a garden. I love to lie on the couch under a quilt (not a blanket but a quilt, because I love quilts) and read a book for pleasure. On a really good Sabbath I will get to do this for several hours. The couch is so comfortable and restful for my body I have many symbols and religious artifacts in my office that delight me and speak to me about God. And since I love words but spend much time working with words, reading for the sheer pleasure of it is the most delicious thing I could choose. I also love it when members of my family come into that space and sit and talk with me quietly This rarely happens in the six-day rush of things, and it replenishes me deep inside.

Restoring the soul. Perhaps the deepest refreshment is the invitation to renew the soul through worship and quiet reflection. This is the part of us that gets most lost during the workweek, which is governed almost completely by the value of productivity. Of course, you will want to include worship in community, but it is also good to incorporate some aspect of worship that is more personal to you and to your family into your Sabbath observance. On your own you may be able to spend some extra time in silence and prayer, take a slow, meditative walk, read a book that God has been using in your life, journal about your week, or do an extended version of the examen of consciousness with particular attention to those things you are grateful for. As a family (if your children are old enough), maintain a quieter and more spacious feeling in your home on the Sabbath. Pay attention to how you can express love to each other on this day Identify rituals or shared activities that create a spirit of reverence for God on this day-have a special meal preceded by a Scripture reading; light candles and go around the table and talk about where God seemed particularly present with you during the week; turn off the TV and talk with each other; take a walk together after dinner; play games; write or call faraway loved ones; open your home to friends, family or neighbors.

Do not make Sabbath keeping a weighty exercise. Explore it with delight, as though you and God are learning together how to make the day special for both of you. Then, be as intentional about protecting it as you can be, but do not become rigid and legalistic about it, which ruins the spirit of the day. “The Sabbath was made for human beings, not human beings for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27).

A FULLNESS IN TIME 

I do not know everything there is to know about Sabbath; in this discipline as much as any other, I am a beginner. What I do know is there have to be times in your life when you move slow … times when you walk rather than run, allowing your body to settle into each step … times when you sit and gaze admiringly at loved ones, rather than racing through an agenda … times when you receive food and drink with gratitude and humility rather than gulping it down on your way to something “more important.” Times when hugs linger and kisses are real.

There have to be times when you read for the sheer pleasure of it, marveling at the beauty of words and writers’ endless creativity in putting them together. There have to be times when you sink into the comforts of home and become human again rather than using home as a hotel or a fast-food restaurant; times when you light a candle and find the place inside you that loves and then pray out of that place. There have to be times when you let yourself feel what you feel, when you let tears come rather than blinking them back because you don’t have time to cry. There have to be times to be the creature-softer, more vulnerable and more human-rather than always being tough, defended and in control.

There have to be times to sit with your gratitude for the good gifts in your life that get forgotten in the rush. To celebrate and play and roll down hills and splash in water and spread paint on paper or walls or each other.

There have to be times to sit and wait for the fullness of God that replenishes body, mind and soul-if you can even stand to be so full. There has to be time for the fullness of time, or time is meaningless.

PRACTICE 

Take a few moments to listen to your longings regarding the Sabbath. Where did you feel a keen desire for the rhythms and practices described here? Where did you feel resistance? Or if you didn’t feel anything, notice that too. For several days at least, use your time in quiet to just sit with your own longings and the issues they raise for you.

Then, based on your desire and situation, decide to try one Sabbath. You don’t have to change your whole life-yet. Just look on your calendar for one day of the week that is realistic for you and your family to set aside for Sabbath. Consider what preparations and planning are necessary for making sure that you set aside all types of work and worry on this day.

• What activities will I refuse to engage in so that it is truly a day of rest, worship and delight?

• What activities bring me delight, and how will I incorporate them? (Do not plan it out too precisely; gather some ideas-like when you will go to church or who you will include in your day-but give yourself one day to feel what it’s like to wake up and know that this is a day for you to rest and follow your bliss.)

• Put the date on your calendar, and pray that God will help you to honor this Sabbath and keep it holy Then just see where it starts to lead you.

• What activities will I refuse to engage in so that it is truly a day of rest, worship and delight?

• What activities bring me delight, and how will I incorporate them? (Do not plan it out too precisely; gather some ideas-like when you will go to church or who you will include in your day-but give yourself one day to feel what it’s like to wake up and know that this is a day for you to rest and follow your bliss.)

• Put the date on your calendar, and pray that God will help you to honor this Sabbath and keep it holy.

Then just see where it starts to lead you.

Ruth Haley Barton. Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation

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