By Kara K. Root
What if, for one day, everything stopped?
All pressing obligations and urgent appointments fell away. There was nothing on the calendar – no work, school, errands, sports practices or chores, nowhere to drive, no lists to check off. What if, on this day, there was also no internet—no social media or news feeds, no notifications, alerts, alarms, or reminders, no calls to return or texts to answer?
What if the only purpose of this one day was to be, just as you are, however you are? A day to rest, to enjoy, to be present. To listen to the whims of your heart. To attune to the quiet voice of God within the noisy voices of those you love. To be open and available to joy. Instead of urgent, rushed, tense and busy, you could sleep when you were tired, eat when you were hungry, breathe deeply and move slowly. A day not to do, just to be.
This day is not a fantasy, it’s the fourth commandment. This is Sabbath. Perhaps you are thinking, Great. Here’s another thing to feel bad about—something else to try to cram into our already full schedule. Add “Sabbath” to the list!
If that is what happened for you, know that it’s a typical modern response. It merely reveals how badly we need Sabbath! We measure our value by what we accomplish. We feel both terrified and proud of how busy we are. We’re driven by anxiety and worry. We don’t stop, we tell ourselves, because we can’t stop.
Rest, we’ve decided, is for illnesses and babies, or else it’s lazy and self-indulgent. We tell ourselves that good people, or good Christians, don’t get exhausted or disillusioned. Good people, or good Christians, don’t feel afraid or overwhelmed. So if we feel these things, we must be doing it wrong. We’ll just have to try harder.
But Jesus says, Are you weary? Carrying heavy burdens? Come to me, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28-30). And human beings are made in the image of a God who rests (Genesis 2:1-3). We belong to God and we belong to each other. God does this; we do not choose or earn our belonging, and we cannot lose it. We are not defined by what we do, but by the love of God.
How do we remember and practice our belonging? We rest. We stop doing and just be. Rest is practicing trust. When we stop and the circus carries on without us, we practice trusting that God is God and we are not. When we are with the people we love without rushing or achieving—simply being ourselves with one another—we practice trusting that we are loved not for what we do, but for who we are.
Resting makes us available to the holy moments when they arrive: gut-busting laughter, languid ease, delighted connection, a rush of gratitude, a spark of wonder. Resting regularly and intentionally trains us to notice and receive these moments more often— even in the ordinary, busy times.
What if, this month, you looked at the calendar and blocked out one day for Sabbath?
Some suggestions for Sabbath time with your family:
- Each person make a YES and NO list. (They will not all be the same).
- Say YES today to what brings you joy and reminds you of your belonging to God and each other.
- Say NO today to what dulls your senses and disconnects you from yourself, God and others.
- Invite each other to remind you what you’ve said YES and NO to when you forget.
- Expect struggle and tears (your own).
- Adults believe a good day is a productive day. A day for not doing can feel excruciating.
- When the day is done, share stories.
- Name what you’re thankful for and what was hard.
- Tell each other ways you felt our belonging to God and to each other.
Resting takes away our doing; we must simply be. Be here. Be ourselves with God. Be ourselves with each other. We are loved by God who loves everyone else and loves this big, broken, beautiful world. Sabbath teaches us to trust and receive the love that holds us all.
About Kara K. Root: Rev. Kara K. Root is the author of The Deepest Belonging: A Story of Discovering How God Meets Us (2021) and the forthcoming Receiving This Life: Practicing the Deepest Belonging. (2023).
Pastor of Lake Nokomis Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis, MN, a Christian community that shapes its life around worship, hospitality and Sabbath rest, she is a trained Spiritual Director and Certified Educator in the PCUSA. Being mom to two intriguing teenagers (and a sweet dog), and wife and proofreader to a wily theologian, spices up her vocational calling and keeps her fully immersed in life.
She has written for Sparkhouse, Working Preacher, Christian Century, Christianity Today, Faith and Leadership, Patheos and more. Kara leads retreats and workshops on sabbath rest, prayer practices, and church leadership and transformation.
Kara and her husband, Andy, lead workshops and speak together through Root Creative, inc.
