Last Friday evening, I attended a service in honor of my son’s Hebrew school teachers. At that gathering the rabbi reminded us that the weekend always arrives but that the Sabbath (which, as you may know, for Jews lasts 24 hours after Friday’s sunset) must be invited. It has to be welcomed. That got me thinking about how busy we Chatterings stay on weekends and how valuable the Sabbath would be if we invited it into our home more deliberately. I take in moments of complete peace daily, but I know my life would be calmer, and I’d feel so blessed, if I observed a true Sabbath for a full day every week.

“For me, thankfulness and listening on the Sabbath involve breathing deeply, noticing sensory information, or just sitting and doing nothing,” writes Lynne M. Baab, in her book “Sabbath Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest.”
She then describes a Christian man she knows who has been practicing a particular Sabbath discipline for twenty-five years. “For two hours he sits with pen and paper in hand, listening to God. When he hears something, he takes notes,” she writes. That sounds lovely to me.

P.S. I’m taking a three-day Reiki training Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and will write up what I’ve learned later this week!