02.05.2023 | Sunday Warmup

It's the fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time.  How can I practice Sabbath this day?  How can I take a break from looking at things in the usual way?  How can I see things differently this day of rest?  

I'm slowly changing my approach to Sabbath.  A day of rest but not just for the body but for the mind and especially the spirit.  We know how to rest our bodies.  Good sleep.  Maybe a nice nap in the afternoon.  But resting our minds and spirits are not quite as easy.  It's hard to shut down the mind sometimes and truly rest.  It seems to be even harder now that I am older.  Thoughts keep coming back and haunting my rest.  The need for Sabbath is real and necessary.  

Walking through the garden and being in nature are a form of Sabbath for this old gardener.  A time to let things slow down and the mind and spirit to simply rest.  Pulling weeds while thinking of nothing but pulling weeds.  The mind and spirit rests while the body does a simple, repetitive task.  Sabbath.  Rest. Quiet the mind. The soul will speak.  Sabbath rest. Amen.