September 2023: Towards Rest

 

Title: Towards Rest

Author:Alabaster

Publisher:Alabaster

Genre: Religious/Non-Fiction

Pages: 158

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Summary: "How do we experience rest? This book explores this question and its qualities for our lives, rhythms, and conventions today. God rests. From the very beginning, rest is marked with sacred significance among all of creation. God calls individuals and communities alike into lives, rhythms, and conventions of rest. More than a mere afternoon nap, rest is a holy orientation and divine chronology that completes life as we know it. Just as God rests, we rest with God. This book is meant to move us towards rest, into recovering its wisdom and consequence in our lives. As we contemplate and practice these many qualities of rest, may our personal lives be rejuvenated, our families strengthened, and our communities reoriented towards justice and peace. And may we rest with God. Amen."

Memorable Quotes/Morals/Moments:  

We may romanticize ideas of "running after God" and "doing the Lord's work." But love is not rushed. If we are misguided by efficiency, external results, and doing more for God, we will leave love behind.

God is in no hurry to save the world. And if we choose to partner with him, we partake in something larger than ourselves-a movement that spans millennia, governed by the pace of love.

How have we deprived ourselves of the enjoyment of unoptimized time-time that doesn't serve to make us better assets in the workforce, better friends, better bosses, or better parents?

Journalist Rainesford Stauffer, an advocate for wasting time, puts it aptly: "The glory of the silly hobby lies in not proving anything, not even that you can do it, because it doesn't matter if you can."

In Spirit

Practicing breathing exercises, journaling, or meditating before our daily bustle are all ways to be present to our inner-selves.

When we create spaces of stillness and quiet, we are attuned with our beings the essence of ourselves. This awareness equips us to better tend to our soul's needs, listen to its cries, and hear what God is saying of them.

In Body

Too often, Christians over-spiritualize our lives and character formation, forgetting that God entrusted us with bodies. We toil and push towards "good causes," ignorant of how accelerated our heart rates have become or how short our breaths are. But we will not be whole unless our bodies, too, are whole. Creating a consistent sleeping sched-ule, not skipping meals, taking daily walks, and exercising are all rhythms we can implement in our daily lives to care for and nourish our physical beings.

In Community

Allowing Jesus to minister to us in our inner and physical lives upholds our availability to our families, loved ones, and communities.

We can depart from a deficit-mindset-being stingy with our time, energy, and generosity—and towards a posture of abundance. We can practice presence in our communities by finding creative ways to serve and be attentive to them, whether advocating for neighbors in need, practicing active listening with friends, or remaining interruptible to daily needs around us.

In Work

In practicing a pace of presence in our spirits, our bodies, and our communities, we can then be present to our work. In an order much like this, our priorities can be realigned and we notice what Jesus no-ticed; we are led to stop and go on his cue. We receive perspective of our place as children of God in a movement beyond ourselves. This affirmation of identity and worth sets the precedence for our work-not the other way around. ONly then are we truly free from the yoke of labor; only then are we our whole selves. 

True rest cannot be compartmentalized into a neat schedule, because presence is holistic. the Sabbath will not only set a unique pace for our off-days, it is meant to permeate our entire lifestyle. As we practice presence, we are mobilized into a new rhythm fit to parter with God; a walking pace.

Links:

Started/Finished: Start 12/16  Finish 12/17