2 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all their multitude. 2 On the sixth day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.
~Genesis 2:1-3

It’s fascinating to think that the creator of the universe, the one whose voice made order out of chaos, rested for a day. You would think that the one who is All-Powerful would not need a moments rest. You would think that God could keep going and going. It’s quite possible that God could, but God took the time to rest and gave us the second greatest gift we could have every received- Sabbath.

20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.
~Exodus 20:8-11

If I have learned anything, it is the importance of following this commandment because if I don’t, I am tired, weary, and worn. Most of you know that I take a Sabbath day each week (generally Saturday, but it does change based on the work for the week) and use it to do those things that fill my soul and my energy banks for the week. Sometimes, I sit at home and read a book on the deck. Sometimes, I go hiking. Sometimes, I spend the day with family. The important part is that I put the screens down, I do not open my email, and I let my phone go to voice-mail. It’s a hard thing to do the first few times, but as the weeks go by, I look forward to Sabbath days.

It's important to remember that the day needs to be filled with soul-filling activities. That means actually doing a devotion in the morning, actually spending time in prayer. That doesn’t need to look like spending the day buried in our bibles, but it does mean taking extra time to listen for God’s voice.

One of my favorite Sabbath days recently was the day after Easter. It had been a busy season and I was tired. Between worship, and visitations, and family events, and funerals, I was done and there was still so much to do. By the world’s standards, I should have taken that Monday and done my normal work plus finished planning April worship, done some other conference related work, all which needed to be completed that week. But I had not taken Sabbath in over a week and it was time.

So, I slept late, cooked a hearty breakfast, read my bible, did some spring cleaning (which is therapeutic for me), and built a bouquet of flowers out of Legos (which were a gift from all of you). It was building those flowers where I was reminded that the world does not always need to be stressful. It was building those flowers where I was reminded of the pieces of me that I had forgotten in the chaos of Lent. It was building those flowers where I was reminded that we can’t always see the fruits of our labors, so we have to find places where we can.

It was in those Legos that I found my rest and was able to hear God speak to me again. And that is what made it holy.

As the summer comes and our calendars fill up with the activities of the Jersey Shore, let us remember to take the time to step back and listen for God’s voice because without it, we will just be floating in chaos.

Blessings friends,
Pastor Nicole