Finding Rest in God’s Garden
Earth’s Cycles
God created rest.
We have night and day every 24 hours as our planet spins on its axis. Our bodies naturally wake up and fall asleep on this schedule.
Every year, as the Earth travels around the Sun, we experience winter, spring, summer & fall. In winter our natural world slows down, and plants and animals take a rest.
Bears, bats, and other creatures hibernate. Trees lose their leaves. And plants die, leaving their seeds behind in the ground, until the warmth of spring sets them to growing again.
Can you think of any other examples of rest in nature?
Check out this map showing Earth’s daylight and darkness. What do you think it would be like to live in a place of non-stop light, like Alaska?
Day & Night World Map
Look for REST this week as a family. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Take a “Nature Bath,”
Close your eyes and sit quietly for a few moments
Feel the sun’s warmth and the cool breeze on your skin
Listen for the sounds of bugs, birds, and other living things
Open your eyes and look for the life happening around you
Set aside a few hours to do something that your family finds restful. Try to be present in the moment, living joyfully as if all of your work is done.
Listen to a favorite song. Notice the places in the song where there is a pause in the music. What happens if you try to sing the song without any rests?
Watch this hibernation video. Then learn about other animals that hibernate in the winter
PBS Hibernation Video
Exodus 20:8-11
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Slow Church by Christopher Smith & John Pattison
“Our creator God looks down at us with absolute love; we set aside the Sabbath to meet that gaze.”
“Sabbath observance requires a leap of faith, a firm confidence that the world will continue to operate benevolently for a day without human labor, that God is willing and able to provide enough for the good life.”
“Sabbath gives us the spiritual space we need to recognize the gifts already in our communities and to give thanks to God for them.”
Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight In Our Busy Lives by Wayne Muller
“Once people feel nourished and refreshed, they cannot help but be kind; just so, the world aches for the generosity of a well-rested people.”
“Sabbath says, “Be still. Stop. There is no rush to get to the end, because we are never finished.”
“The wisdom of Sabbath time is that at a prescribed moment, it is time to stop. We cannot wait until we are finished, because we are never finished. We cannot wait until we have everything we need, because the mind is seduced by endlessly multiplying desires. We cannot wait until things slow down, because the world is moving faster and faster, and we cannot be left behind. There are always a million good reasons to keep on going, and never a good enough reason to stop.”
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer
Margin is the space between our load and our limits
“What could I do for twenty-four hours that would fill my soul with a deep, throbbing joy? That would make me spontaneously combust with wonder, awe, gratitude, and praise?”
“[Sabbath] is a life-giving practice to break our addiction to the West’s twin gods: accomplishment and accumulation…The Sabbath is like a guerrilla warfare tactic. If you want to break free from the oppressive yoke…and its restless, relentless lust for more, just take a day each week and stick it to the man. Don’t buy. Don’t sell. Don’t shop. Don’t surf the web…Just put all that away and enjoy. Drink deeply from the well of ordinary life…”