And the Rest is Necessary
Curating a Creative Life — Sunday Sabbath
Have you noticed that when a day or a week has included more things for which we did not plan — more work, more emergencies, more obstacles, more stress, more, well, life — we tend to try and squeeze even more into that day or that week? Not more of the extra things that showed up without our permission, but more of the things that got squeezed out as a result. Like maybe more writing (if like me you happen to be a writer), or more reading, or more family time, more, well, the things that make us feel good.
And while that seems like a fine response to our circumstances, I’ve found it’s not my best response. My best response is actually counterintuitive; my best response is to choose rest rather than more work. My instinct is to work in order to redeem what I consider to be lost time.
But when I consider the One who created the universe and who spoke the world into being rested from His work, I realize it is good for me to choose likewise. Rest provides renewal, but even more, it provides redemption.
When I choose to honor God and to take Him at His word, which is to honor the sabbath, I give God the room to redeem my time however He sees fit. Given that He sees way more than I do, and given that His view is eternal while mine is more limited to the here and now, it makes a lot of sense to surrender control to Him and embrace rest.
Embracing the sabbath takes practice, but it is something I believe benefits me far more than squeezing even more out of myself and into my day. When it comes to curating a creative life, ceasing from work allows me opportunities to welcome creativity back into my life, my heart, my soul. And, as a result, creating becomes the sacred act God intends it to be.
