September is birthday month in our house.  September 20th is my birthday.  And today is my ex-husband’s birthday.

With today comes a melancholy fog that settles over our house.  Three of the kids have written their father.  I’m so extremely proud of them.

But a day that should be full of birthday celebration instead is a reminder of the fact that we are living a new normal now, that involves the absence of a father; an absence of a husband, due to sin and criminal justice.

It’s a strange world, this world of incarceration.  Of having no idea how he is spending his day.  No idea of what he is thinking.  And really, no idea of what I am thinking, myself.  It’s just so surreal.  And heartbreaking.

My prayer today is that my crew will feel satisfied that they have taken the time to write their father.  That their father will be encouraged by their letters.  And my prayer will include thanksgiving that my God is a father to the fatherless and a provider for me and my crew.  And thanksgiving for joy, which God continues to surprise me with, even on challenging days such as today.

What a strange, strange day this has been.

It’s nearly 5:00 and besides some very light housework and yard work, and paying couple of bills, I’ve done nothing all day.

Nothing.

Except watch football.  Hours of football.  And those that know me well would say “Whaaattt??”  I’m a nerd, not an athlete.  I understand football, but it doesn’t keep my attention.  But today I’ve had it on all day long.  Right now I’m watching Baylor vs. Buffalo.  Why?  I don’t know.  I’m not even really watching it, it’s just been the background “noise” to this nothingness day.

My sleep was interrupted last night, leading to a sleepless night.  Usually that doesn’t change my routine for the day after, but today I’ve napped off and on.  Hazy, half asleep, can’t open my eyes napping with my favorite blanket.

At first I felt extremely guilty.  I should be working.  And if I’m not working, I should be catching up on all the things that need to be done.  Grocery shopping.  Washing the vehicles.  Getting my brake light repaired.  Studying.  Pruning all the plants back for fall.  But I’ve done none of it.

In thinking about it, a verse came to my mind.  Mark 2:27 reads:

And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

And normally my next step would be to tear the verse apart—what’s the context, why did Jesus say this, what does it mean, what does it not mean?

But not this time.

This time I find myself just accepting this verse as a gift from my Jesus.  You see, I’m not very good at observing the Sabbath.  I even put pressure upon myself about observing the Sabbath–am I doing it right?  Am I spending enough time on a Sabbath in studying and worshipping God?  Is God pleased with me?

Today, instead, these words are a gift, just as the Sabbath is a gift.  A gift given to us by a loving God.  It was made for man.  God created the Sabbath knowing that our bodies, minds and souls need rest from the toil of the week.  Man was not made for the Sabbath—as if there is a checklist of duties that must be kept in order to observe a Sabbath.

No, the Sabbath was made, by God, for man.  Because He loves us.

So as the afternoon draws to a close and evening begins, I would have to say this day of nothingness has been a gift from God.  I felt a bit beat up from this first week of school; from work pressures and vehicle troubles.  Yet all those things have faded today.  It’s truly been a Sabbath.  And tonight?  Tonight I’ll enjoy being with my crew with no pressure to “do” anything.

And tomorrow I will wake up, spend time with my Savior, and then spend time with my church family, worshipping Him.

I share all of this with you to ask, when was your last Sabbath?  When was the last time you accepted the gift that Sabbath was made for you by the God that loves you–to renew you, to refresh you, to bless you?

I’m not saying that every Sabbath needs to look like this day has for me.  But I am saying that sometimes we just need to stop and receive the gift of Sabbath from our God.

 

Links for this first Friday in September:

1.  Is Anyone Sad for Ariel Castro?  That’s a tough question, yet something I seriously think we need to ask ourselves.

2.  Take a look at these 20 Odd Things Confiscated from Airports.  Some people just aren’t very bright.

3.  Need more brain cells?  The BBC reports that scientists believe that sleep replenishes a type of brain cell.

4.  Justin Taylor shares an interesting developing program for book buyers and Kindle owners.

5.  What would you do if a skyscraper was melting your car?