A Word from Laura: The Antidote to work that never ends

“My work never ends these days.”

She was the third person, yesterday, to share the challenges of her schedule, and it wasn’t even lunch time.  My friend was glad to still be working. But her father in another state was struggling; she had just spent a few hours on the phone trying to arrange a follow-up visit with his oncologist.

If you are feeling overwhelmed these days with the tasks of life, you are not alone. Joining a group to work on anti-racism, spending six-eight hours a day in front of a computer, negotiating child care in a summer without camp, just figuring out cereal for dinner – our lives are full of intensity!

In a world that values us based on our earning power, in a time when even if you’re not working in a traditional sense, you could spend all day on Zoom, sabbath rest is more important than ever.

Someone once reminded me that Sabbath – resting from our work so that God can do God’s work in us – that kind of rest is a gift, but we have such trouble with it, God had to make it a commandment.

More than ever, we need sabbath rest, a holy stop, a time for saying no to anything that does not connect us to who God calls us to be, and a saying yes to being filled with God’s energy and Spirit.

We still have worship on Sundays, a time I hope you’ll set apart for your Sabbath rest. Join with us to remember God, to reconnect with siblings in Christ, to reclaim what is most important to God and to you.

And if Sunday mornings don’t work, you can still find a recording on our church website.  Take church with you on a walk or in your car or on vacation. Share church with your family and friends.

We all need Sabbath rest these days. Wherever you find yourself, may you know Shabbat shalom, Sabbath rest, this week and always,

Laura