Just do it!

My first attempt at a Sabbath since returning home from SFTS was a mixed experience.  I almost broke out in a cold sweat Friday morning as I refrained from turning the computer on to check emails.  This was good data to have, but not the nicest of experiences. 

Unlike being in the little apartment in San Anselmo, here I am surrounded with a million and one things that need to be done - it isn't quite so easy here to shift gears and rest when all manner of good and necessary things suddenly develop neon flashing signs and vie for my attention.  I never thought that the laundry basket could be so obnoxious - never mind the borderline chores/activities that are neither restful nor lead to a greater experience of God, but are not on the list of things I am trying to avoid on the Sabbath (like email). 

It was definitely a mixed experience - which means that not only was there a "talking" laundry basket and withdrawal from email, but there was also a rocking chair on the deck that gave me a view of birds perched in nearby trees - they looked like talking Christmas ornaments (sans snow), and a pair of hawks that caught a thermal and soared so high that I lost sight of them in the clouds.  I spent some time in the rehab pool letting my joints get some comfort, had lunch at Shangri La with Bill, read a good book, took a nap, and prayed.  I didn't get out to worship - one step at a time.

I guess that is the lesson - major change can be approached in different ways.  Sometimes it is best to jump in the deep end and change everything all at once.  Sometimes you take baby steps and make changes incrementally.  I think the idea of the Sabbath will take time, some experimentation, and heaps of self patience.

I did manage to post the "out of the office" on the email - and resisted peeking at the inbox.  In fact, I didn't turn the computer on for an entire 24 hours...and the world didn't end (again, good data).  So I'll keep trying each week, and see how I can grow into this combination of deep rest and renewal, and greater awareness of God.

Perhaps you are in the process of making a change in your life that will bring greater health, wholeness, and integrity - allowing you to be yourself and have a greater experience of God.  Maybe you're thinking of jumping in the deep end, or maybe you're taking it one step at a time.  Either way...

Just do it!  Keep doing it - keep showing up.  This is how change happens, one step at a time. It doesn't matter if the step is a "micro baby step" or a giant leap off a cliff - a step is a step.  Take the size step that is right for you, and keep doing it.

Doing it - showing up - even when the results are mixed,
Kim - who will observe Sabbath again next week