Photo by Aleksandar Cvetanovic on Unsplash
I used to think sabbath was a day of rest to be observed on Saturday or Sunday (whichever a person chooses) until I moved to North Carolina to help a friend of mine in their spiritual walk. God had me take only a messenger bag of essentials and an extra pair of shoes that were already in my car. I didn’t know how God was going to have me help her but I was down for the journey.
Before moving to North Carolina, I was used to being both busy (in a non-productive and tiresomely working way) and being productive (in an intentional way). My mind would often fluctuate between the two ways of completing tasks as I sought to maintain balance. I picked up on house chores for my friend to help create more room in her awareness of God’s presence in her daily life that routines seemed to occupy. As I stood at the kitchen sink washing dishes, I felt led to ask her if she was ready for a vacation. I got just as excited as she did when she said yes. The gusto in her voice matched the color of my insides as we both lit up! I heard the Lord tell me it was starting right at that moment. I was a bit dumbfounded as I had always associated vacationing with leaving my place of residence unless it was a staycation. The rest of that day has now rolled out into months as I work to maintain a new understanding of vacationing (also known as sabbath to me).
Vacationing no longer requires a tropical place or a set itinerary that mostly involves lying back and relaxing for me. Vacation is now the perspective and way of living that closely resembles a customary chill Sunday evening of resting except it’s a mental and spiritual posture that is maintained daily. Usually when I’m on a real vacation I tend to give myself a bit more leniency when it comes to eating, working out, and the time I spend doing and saying things that really stir up thoughts and emotions that are counter to relaxing. I still aim to maintain a level of discipline when it comes to having and living a healthy life overall (while vacationing), however, I choose to refrain from stressing about things I do not have control over and things I’m not yet aware of about myself. For example, if I find myself gorging down on some cookies and not wanting to be productive, I intentionally choose to be patient with myself by finding out why I’m eating so many sweets and lying around all day. Often enough I find that I’ve been avoiding something and wanting to satiate the fear of approaching it. I then seek to find why I don’t want to do what I’m avoiding and proceed peacefully to the next step in completing what I was putting off. The perspective of vacationing and living a lifestyle of sabbath is the art of staying in as much awareness of God’s presence as possible. We then gain access to intentional living that often gives way to why we personally do the things we do (like procrastinate at times) by paying attention to how intentionally we either do or do not live life.
While I was in North Carolina, I honestly had no idea how long I would be there. All I knew was the Lord told me to go so I went without a specific deadline. I see vacation and sabbath as the same thing now; It is never-ending like eternity. We both know that being on vacation for the rest of our lives would be costly if done the traditional way but the way the Lord was showing me how to seek the oasis found in His presence every moment of the day became an even better arrangement! Prior to my departure from Alabama to visit my friend in October, I was learning how to manage every aspect of my life in a way that looked less like an amateur juggler and more like a well-running carousel. I hadn’t quite learned how to master it and to be honest I still haven’t yet I can say life is more peaceful. When I personally treat every day as sabbath, each moment of every day is lighter even amid task heavy days.
Not even a month after getting to North Carolina, my friend and I moved to Chicago. While on vacation there, I had the privilege of delivering for Doordash. During one particular dash to Popeye’s, the Lord told me to pay attention to a young lady that was putting together the meals. It was a Sunday evening and the orders were stacking up fast. The manager yelled for the workers to hurry up and get off of the clock. Some were disgruntled while others paid her no mind at all, but one young lady responded differently from the others. She worked at a pace and a level of efficiency that translated peace, rest, and discipline. When she handed me the order she told me she didn’t mind going home a little early as it was Sunday and it would give her the opportunity to relax. The Lord whispered to me that that was what He meant by vacation; being able to rest while I work. I paced back and forth in my mind as I replayed that situation over and over again trying to understand how she could be so calm in a high stress and demanding environment yet remain at rest in spirit. I was now catching on to a new wave of living and I liked it.
While in Chicago, there were times when my friend and I didn’t always have what we felt we needed. When our basic daily needs began to crowd around our minds and the reality set in that we didn’t know what God was up to in us being in Chicago. With no known purpose, itinerary, or a lot of money, we did what we only knew to do; we rested. I’m not talking about physical resting but spiritual resting. The most honest way I know to describe resting in God in the middle of something as daring as what God led us through is to acknowledge the fear in the situation, identify the need at the moment, make peace with knowing the thing(s) I need is(are) out of my reach, make the decision to not worry or be frantic and proceed to tell God how I’m feeling and that I need His provision. I try to avoid asking for item-specific provisions as I do not always know the way God intends to work through a situation on my behalf. I instead invite Him into my situation (reminds me of one of my favorite songs), shifting my focal point back to Him and away from my troubles. I don’t always receive what I think I need but I do always receive His peace even when it takes some time to fully hit me.
My friend and I stayed in AirBnBs, motels, the car at times, and also a shelter (Shout out to PGM in Chicago). Now you might ask why on Earth would we pick up and move to a city without provision; that is foolish and unwise. My personal comment to that is both yes and no, that is foolish. I do not recommend anyone do this without first knowing that God has graced them to go on such a journey by asking Holy Spirit, otherwise it could end up being an extra rough time for them in ways that God never meant for them to endure. For my friend and myself, however, we were graced for the journey and received our green light to go in pursuit of His will.
Through the experiences I went through in North Carolina and Chicago, I learned what Paul learned (Philippians 4:11-13), how to live with much and with little, and be content. I learned how to give every concern to God and am continuing to learn how to keep them in His hands. I learned how to live a life full of awareness and intentionality. I learned how to rest knowing not a single worry, to-do list, or amount of physical activity could take me out of living each day and moment as the sabbath. As you personally find the pace of living that God has graced you for, my prayer for you as the reader is that He would give you continual rest and enjoyment in life.
If you enjoyed this article by Paris Lopez and want to follow more of her day-to-day journey, you can stay in the loop via Twitter. We would love to hear about how God has transformed your sabbath. You can reach us through our contact page or email us your story at warriorlettersblog@gmail.com.
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