A Sabbath Day

Today, I choose to do what I long to do.

I set aside the "shoulds" and "ought to's" and I follow the way that He whispers to my soul.

One of the things I've been trying to do on this 3-month Sabbatical from my volunteer staff role at church is to LISTEN.

OH, how I LONG to hear clearly what God is saying. Life makes so much more sense when I can hear what He is saying.

The challenge is quieting myself. Not an easy task for this ponderer with meandering thoughts!

One night, recently, I was awake in the middle of the night. Couldn't fall back asleep. I wondered if I should read something encouraging to my soul, if I should go downstairs and see if sleep success could be found on the couch.

But I didn't want to leave my husband to wake up alone... so I asked, "Lord, what should I do?"

"Walk."

Hmmmm.... Well, it wouldn't make sense to go outside in the middle of the night. So I pace - from the front of the living room to the back hallway. And as I do, I read a few snippets from my devotional book and I pray.

The energy works its way out and the peace works its way in.

And I am amazed at His wisdom. This thought would not have occurred to me - I mean really, pacing in the middle of the night!

Yet, it was exactly what I needed.

A couple days later, it was my day off, and I was hazy - in and out of sleep, happy under the covers. And as I laid there, not yet alert enough to be distracted from His voice, I heard Him...

He said, "Write."

And so I had a lovely Sabbath day of finishing up a few posts I had written long ago but never finished and posted, and writing new draft thoughts. Then I went for a walk, and everything I saw seemed so alive with His presence.

A week later, it occurs to me that these words He spoke were not only for those moments, but were His guidance in the unfurling of this life of faith.

So today, on this lovely Sabbath day - which, for this church-worker family, is never on a Sunday - I WALKED.

I still marvel at the fact that I can hop in my car and in less than ten minutes, I can be here:

I can hardly believe that I get to behold this beauty...

And now I WRITE.

And my soul feels so alive!

It is the most wonderful feeling to hear God's direction for this moment, for this season, and then obey.

It makes me want to get so much better at hearing Him, and so much better at obeying!

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