After what was no doubt the mother of all work weeks (however long it took) the Lord God, Creator of Heaven and the Universe, stepped back and said – perhaps with a stretch – “Well, that’s that and it’s all very good. It’s a job well done, and now I think I’ll take a break.” God rested. That’s what the Book of Genesis tells us, at least. God rested from all His work. And that’s what’s called Sabbath. It’s time out, not what kids get for acting up, but a break in the usual work in order to do the three R’s – Rest, Recreate and Renew. The Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures, throughout, strongly recommend (actually command) that people take after God in this regard in life and every aspect of industry. People should completely rest every seventh day – whether a Friday for Muslims, Saturday for Jews, or Sunday for Christians. It’s a time devoted to rest, refreshment, and to the Lord – to take after God. Scripture tells us that people must not only rest them selves and their workers, but also must rest the land they farm every seven years for the same reason. And every seven times seven years all debts were to be forgiven and all slaves and bond servants were to be freed. Rest and renewal were and still are essential for the health of people, places and society at large.

So that’s what I’ve been up to for the past seven weeks – resting, recreating and renewing. That’s the point of sabbatical time. But what in the world can a person do for all that time? Nothing and everything. I confess there were a few days or so when I was a bit stir crazy. But then I settled into it. I slept later than usual. I napped on more than the occasional afternoon – something I was reminded of by our Dominican brethren. I prayed – especially while walking, hiking, kayaking and gardening. I spent much time in those activities. I enjoyed 22 short stories, an entire collection of the early works of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, and many Arthur Conan Doyle mysteries, as well as Wrestling with Angels, God’s Politic, and Dante’s Divine Comedy. Quite a spread – from the sublime to the ridiculous, or vice versa! I visited with the not-so-young kids, three of whom live in far-flung parts – California, Texas and Virginia. I traveled to Costa Rica and had many adventures there, including jungle hiking, zip lining, horseback riding, snorkeling and swimming, traversing swollen rivers and mud slides, helping to dig out roads from landslides, facing down earthquakes and volcanoes, and avoiding the occasional scorpion in my towels. It was a bit like “Survivor” but without the backup crew to swoop in to rescue me. But God was there. God was everywhere – in nature, in the kids, in the garden, sea, the jungles and the rivers, in the quiet alone times and the adventures. God was always there. I had a friend, once, an assistant in California actually, who devoted one of his three months of sabbatical time alone in the Egyptian wilderness. He was in his thirties at the time, and I’m not anymore, but time away – vacating usual life – can be most challenging and renewing as well.

I sought to find rest balance with God, and I did. I intend to continue to try to build that into my normal routine of life this year. But more than that, I encourage everyone to try it. God didn’t say, “Thou shalt honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy (specially set apart)” simply to make one more law for people to obey. God did it for our well-being. It’s an important discipline to follow ourselves and to teach and model to our children. Oh, I realize that it’s harder than ever to follow the discipline of Sabbath, what with seven-day retail, and unlimited extracurricular opportunities for kids, especially in sports. But dedicated “down-time” as we like to call nowadays is foundational to our physical, emotional and spiritual health and well-being. Ironically, sure it takes work to resist the pressures to constantly occupy ourselves with productive enterprises, but everything that lives needs fallow time. And isn’t that the very nature of any discipline – to make every effort to do something that’s good for yourself or someone else? With Labor Day upon us signaling the resumption of our regular schedules, it’s a perfect time to make our resolutions on balancing our lives!

Affectionately in Christ,