“Remember to keep holy the Sabbath Day.” This is the third commandment in the Christians’ Decalogue and that of those who practice Judaism. Do you have one? How do you practice it?

Exodus 31:14

Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it is to be put to death; those who do any work on that day must be cut off from their people.

Originating from the action word, sabbat meaning to stop, to ease or keep, a Sabbath day is central to Jewish life. Where, it served as a duty before God. In honouring the order of creation, believers of theology follow God’s rest on the 7th day. They did so very seriously that desecration to it may result to death penalty.

Exodus 35:2

For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a day of sabbath rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it is to be put to death.

Recently, my daughter had become very vocal and expressive. At 4 years old, she easily communicates frustration when she has to play by herself. As I observed, she doesn’t necessarily goes into a fit after being rejected after she asked us to sit down to have a tea party. I see though that she easily gets tired of playing on her own. Eventually, she would find another excuse to bother me again by tempting me with a new movie from Netflix. This is after specifically letting her know, I am busy. Right then and there she would exclaim, “But I want you.”

Openly, I asked, (to our nanny, my husband and my nephew), “Don’t you think she’s being extra clingy?” And my nephew made me see what was lacking. “Because Aunty, you’re always busy.” Yes, the time to spend with my daughter. To relax, play and see a movie.

I analysed carefully and realised that this behaviour of my daughter, resonates through actions big time. There are times, she would fold down the monitor of my laptop, closing it shut. Or she would climb up to me and pretend that she’s sleepy so that I’ll cuddle her. Or basically, just put her head on my lap being extra clingy and waiting. That’s the cue for me to put everything into a stop and would pay close attention to what she needs. TIME.

OBSERVING SABBATH

That’s what I would like to share to you today in my #sereneSunday. Observing
Sabbath, knowing when to stop and what do we actually gain from stopping.

I, like everybody else I know, am extremely and continuously on the move, preoccupied and busy. We tend to be when we meet tasks we have set ourselves in reaching our goals. But did you know that the Chinese pictograph for busy is composed of 2 characters? It is a combination of heart and killing. (Crafting Novels and Short Stories, Sage Cohen on the topic of Reinventing Your relationship with time, 2011) Though there is no direct explanation about how its construction had become so, it’s undeniable that we feel overwhelmed in the end when all that we become is to be busy.

Recently, I allowed myself two weeks of rest from my usual cooking schedule for our food business. You have to understand that I put a lot of effort and creativity when I prepare food because I hate putting it into waste. You can’t blame me for aiming for perfection on this. When the orders reach more than 20, it can take its toll on your hands and it requires more time to prepare. 

HOW WAS IT HELPFUL?

In these two weeks, I got to read more books for my daughter, I got creative with the food I cook for her and my husband and lastly, I got ample rest. I caught up with reading and I am more than inspired to go back to cooking.

I had decorated the Christmas tree, filled it up with gifts and had a night just staring at its light change that night with my daughter. We have laid back and gave ourselves good 30 minutes letting the lights play in front of us before we slept. My husband shared to me, “When I was young, I didn’t have this luxury of a Christmas tree.” So simple, but I was thankful of that little sharing quiet time allowed him to do so.

Most of all, I have set new writing goals.

All in all, I got recharged. The good news for us overachievers is that when you choose to stop, you get to build up new angles in looking at things. This helps you see different solutions in solving problems, fresh ideas to mix with the previous effective ones and you are able to share the good vibe around you.

God was perfect, but he needed the sabbath to see and enjoy what He had created. Let me remind you, that you need one too.