Pastor’s Pen
Do you think you got enough sleep this past week? Can you recall the last time you woke up without an alarm clock feeling refreshed and not needing caffeine? If the answer to either of these questions is “no,” you are not alone. More than a third of adults in many developed nations fail to obtain the recommended seven to nine hours of nightly sleep. In our Adult Education class on Sunday mornings, we are studying Matthew Walker’s Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams. Walker makes the case that sleep is the single most important thing we can do for our health. Impacting memory, appetite, recovery, energy levels, and more, Walker walks readers through the wide-ranging impact sleep, or a lack of sleep, can have on our health.
Yet, our study is more than a walkthrough of the biological implications of sleep. Instead, we have been challenged to examine sleep in light of the wholeness that Scripture calls us to. Last week I shared my tendency to throw myself into my work. While innocuous on the surface, work has been an avenue to avoid dealing with problems in my life and earn people’s (and God’s) favor. During my first year of Seminary, this tendency became deeply unhealthy. I worked and studied twelve hours a day at least six days a week. While academically successful, I became lonely, increasingly discontent, and depressed as my relationships with others and with God suffered. I spent the majority of my day reading Scripture and theology, but I had never felt more distant from God.
I spent the following summer with Emma at Grand Teton National Park. I had a firm 8-4 work schedule with a clear distinction between work and play. I used those evenings to practice a daily invitation of Sabbath. Some nights we went for short hikes; others, we gazed at the stars. I found myself slowing down; the tension and compulsion to do or accomplish slowly releasing. At the center of this change was a rediscovery of the gift of the Sabbath. I realized that each day provides the opportunity for rest, renewal, and resurrection.
That summer changed my life. I returned to school happily engaged, emotionally healthy, and spiritually nourished. I discovered that I don’t have to earn the love of God or others. I was happier than I had been in a long time. As I committed to firm boundaries between work and play, I was surprised to find out that I was more productive even though I worked less. As friends and colleagues took notice, I happily shared the “good news” of rest. In this new season of discerning our future, I hope that you too, will hear this good news: God’s Sabbath is a daily invitation to rest in God’s great grace.
