Sabbath Seconds by Suria Scholtz
Stop Rushing through Life, was written in my diary, opposite the month of August. It was as if God Himself spoke those words to me and I looked guiltily around, in case someone else heard them. It was Sunday morning and I quickly dashed into my home office to send an email before Monday. Once again, I am sprinting through the year at breathtaking speed, working hard on all sorts of projects – of which quite a few are for next year. Yet, those words stopped me dead in my tracks, and I hastily flopped down to skim the paragraph on the opposite page…
My eye caught, “fast food, fast cars, fast conversations…” Guilty! Guilty! And again, guilty! How did this happen, I thought – perplexed when I saw how the ‘Martha’ in me has flourished during the past months of limited contact with family and friends. Martha always sucks the joy out of me, leaving me unfulfilled and exhausted, and yet here I was, on a Sunday morning, writing emails.
That while I adore her sister, Mary, always wishing my personality was more like hers. If she was not quietly sitting at the feet of Jesus, hanging on to his every word, she anointed those very feet with costly perfume. How single-minded her focus. How simple her mission. How extravagant her worship!
So how come I keep on falling into the same hole? I thought age would slow me down and experience help me to sidestep well-known pitfalls. Alas! As I pondered my predicament, I was reminded of an article I read years ago. The author, a busy missionary mum, shared about finding sabbath seconds, sabbath minutes, sabbath hours and sabbath days. Familiar with the latter, I was intrigued by the writer’s application of daily living in God’s rest. It reminded me of the timeless classic by Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God. In the midst of a busy monastery kitchen, he maintained his conversation with God – blessing Him, praising Him, adoring and loving Him.
It is Eugene Peterson that broke this down for me. He explains that instead of managing our time by schedule, we should embrace the ancient way of rhythm, for natural rhythms is a living thing. He gets practical and encourages families to be more thoughtful and intentional about the way they prepare and eat their meals together. He talks about the tyranny of technology, and the idolatry of work – a place where we can easily feel God-like in a positive way.[1]
Taking a break from doing necessary work and being in charge all the time, the Sabbath is ultimately about worship of God. Which brings me back to Mary, the sister of Martha. She knew all about Sabbath minutes and Sabbath hours, for she easily left her persnickety sister to adore her Saviour – and that in the middle of serving, even grand social gatherings. Comfortable in His presence and safe at His feet, it is her quiet worship and untroubled adoration that reminds me to be still and know that He is God – also in the middle of the rush!
[1] Taken from Life@Work, Volume One, p. 163
