“Because we do not rest, we lose our way.” Wayne Muller, in Sabbath.
Some thoughts on Sabbath…by F. Bernies
When there is a storm at sea, those who are caught in it have their hands full. They concentrate on nothing else but the exhausting task of staying afloat in the midst of gale force winds and high seas. However, if anyone in that storm could descend safely into the depths of the ocean, he or she would discover a deeply peaceful world of silent and gentle currents seemingly unaffected by the raging storm above.
Usually we live on the stormy, broken surface of life, but God also calls us to the silent, ocean depths of prayer. There we find our balance, the nourishment for our souls that the Sabbath rest is meant to make possible. There we would be able to let go of our guarded agenda, our struggles, our burdens, our limited viewpoint, and the momentum of our lives, and just rest in God, living out Jesus’ words, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” (Luke 23:46). In the Sabbath God calls us decisively to let go of our surface storms for awhile, to let them rage on for awhile by themselves if they wish, to submit them to God’s care, and allow ourselves to sink deeply into the healing ocean of God’s Spirit. This is something we need to take time to do daily and especially in a once-a-week Sabbath day.
It is in these silences that we take on different eyes – Sabbath eyes that are relaxed and open enough to find God in “being” as well as in “doing,” eyes that can see the deep worth of each moment as it is, rather than always peering ahead to moments lying beyond the present that might seem more “promising.” In these Sabbath silences we find the grace and mercy we so desperately need and can’t live without.
Take time this Sabbath to “sink deeply in the healing ocean of God’s Spirit.”
Gail Johnsen 
[…] if practicing a Sabbath day is not about legalistic duty but about stopping, resting, delighting in God and in living in […]