Tuesday, March 9

I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Come unto me and rest; Lay down, O weary one, and lay your head upon my breast.” I came to Jesus as I was, so weary, worn and sad; I found in him a resting place, and he has made me glad. - Hymn 692, v. 1 Words: Horatio Bonar, 1846

Reflection:

Kimberly Miller,

Observing the Sabbath

I can’t remember the last time I was totally conscious of the Sabbath as it is spoken in Deuteronomy 5:12-15, reminding us that we should keep the Sabbath Holy. I am mostly just

Semi-conscious. We have our six days to work and be productive but the seventh should be a day of worship, rest and contemplation. As God freed the slaves from Egypt with open arms he expects that we will honor him by keeping the Sabbath. I do remember as a kid that there were Blue laws and stores and businesses were closed on Sunday in my town. That was a long time ago and in many states those laws have been repealed and claimed unconstitutional. But I understand, we are a country based on freedom. We have been given free will (by God) so it is our choice alone, not imposed by any law. Is he (God) testing us?

My mother loved God. She sent us to Sunday school as kids because she wanted us to learn about the love of God and his son Jesus. Early on we went to church as a family and observed the Sabbath as I remember. Living in a resort town for most of my life the weekends were when most businesses made there money and I mostly always worked on Sundays until just a few years ago when I moved to Stamford. However; as I grow as an imperfect Christian I can see the need (for myself) to try to keep the words of the faith alive in our culture. It seems that in the race to (I’m not really sure where) be the richest, most powerful, smartest country in the world we have lost sight of some of the basic Christian principles that our great country was built on. That said, this Lent along with my fellows, I will venture to honor my commitment to being more faithful in pursuit of a stronger relationship with God and my fellows by keeping the Sabbath.

So to answer the question what happens when everything stops? I think more. I listen more. I laugh more. I talk more. I rest more. I pray more. I eat more. I spend more time with my family. Just maybe something in my spirit will connect to the rope that God has left dangling gently near me to lift me from the quicksand I never seem to see and always fall into. When I choose to really grab it and hang on for dear life, my hope is that I will experience a freedom that I only dreamed of, exists.