I like the idea of Sabbath keeping. I've taught about it, encouraged those I mentor to embrace the practices, written it on my to-do list.
My body knows it needs it. I invariably need a day off -- my body grows weak, my brain cannot keep up and in order to violate the Sabbath, I must try far too hard with limited results.
Last year, I vowed to take a Sabbath on Friday evenings. I started out well. I went home, grabbed a book, and read for the fun of it. I took time to make a nice dinner that I enjoyed, and to spend time in prayer and Scripture. After 3 hours, I was bored. I made art for my wall. I reorganized my closet. I did laundry. I went to bed with my next day's to-do list completed and felt accomplished.
I talked to my boyfriend the next day, sharing with him all the things I was able to do on my Sabbath. He pointed out that "my Sabbath" failed in one crucial area -- it wasn't a Sabbath.
I still venture these attempts every now and then. I either end up reading school work, of course, for enjoyment's sake, or doing household chores for the good of my roommates. The idea of rest, of doing nothing, is not in my DNA.
This semester, I am teaching at Moody. Part of my agreement is to use this opportunity to grow spiritually, not just improve my teaching ability. I made one of my goals to keep Sabbath, to rest and maintain my focus on God.
The last two Sundays, my computer has simply failed to work when I came home from church. Both weeks, after hours on the phone with tech support, no solution was found and they told me to send it in for repairs. Both weeks, I had fully intended to spend my Sunday writing my lecture for Monday. No computer means no lecture.
Yesterday, I decided to work until the battery completely depleted. It was still running, albeit denying its charge, and I concluded that I would take advantage of the terrific battery life of the machine and use it for the next 4 hours.
As I sat writing about Aristotle and Augustine, prepping illustrations and powerpoints, my roommate, Linsey, stopped by to chat. When I explained my computer frustrations, she jokingly said, "Maybe it's just taking Sabbaths. Maybe it will work tomorrow."It was funny and I brushed it off continuing to work on the Sabbath.
This morning, after letting my battery drain last night, decided to see if my computer would start. It did. Fully charged, fully functioning,no remnants of yesterday's failures.
My computer insisted on a Sabbath. It wanted a day of rest, a moment away from the fast-paced life I put it through. The irony did not move past me. My computer is better at Sabbath keeping than I am.
