Remember the other day when I mentioned "we have to be prepared for interruptions along the way" as we chase Quiet?
Yep, it's true.
Sometimes your car won't start and the family carpool juggernaut has to be figured out on-the-fly before 7:00 a.m. Then your son misses the bus and you have an extra drop-off that you weren't expecting. And, just to keep things interesting, your remaining vehicle has a hissing tire which promises to be flat at an inopportune time later in the day.
When the unexpected happens, we problem solve.
We push through.
We proceed as well as we can.
We just keep going and going and going...until we just can't get started again.
- - At some point we realize we need a recharge. - -
We can miss (or ignore) the cues that we need to attend to some maintenance issues.
Chronic buildup of stress can result in system malfunction.
We're battered and worn down, feeling like we're running on empty. Suddenly, we feel like we need a complete overhaul.
It can be sooooo hard to ask for help, but sometimes we need a little more insight.
We may need to pause and get a new perspective.
We need a break from demands and "busy."
How can we recharge in a healthy way to avoid a full system shutdown?
God provided an instruction manual for doing some regularly scheduled maintenance in our lives. He not only encouraged this, but commanded it.
In fact, God considered rest such a high priority that he made Sabbath Rest the 4th commandment. He didn't tack it on toward the end of the list as an afterthought.
I think God knew that we would struggle with this concept of resting regularly. The 4th commandment got the longest write-up of them all... even spelling it out for us in a weekly rhythm: work 6 days, then rest 1. Sounds easy enough to do, but so hard to diligently follow through with a whole day of rest.
Declaring the Sabbath as a day of rest was the first time God had called something "holy." God truly intended for us to have a day of rest that was "set apart" from our other usual days.
In our modern-day busy lives, this Sabbath rest practice has gotten a little squishy and loose.
Maybe it's time for some weekly recharge to help us get back on track? A little preventative maintenance perhaps?
A day of renewal and rebuilding...sounds good to me. Count me in!
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