Dear Friends,
As I write to you, it’s Wednesday afternoon and I am sitting here with my planner beside me, to do list sketched out for the day. Most days, the list is easy: do my job (I’m a copywriter and my deadlines are mostly small, day by day projects), often a medical appointment, sometimes a church meeting. Wednesdays are different, though, because I take Wednesdays off - which is to say, it’s when I take care of all the other things that need to be done. I answer overdue emails, work on bigger church projects, maybe prep some meals for the coming days. It’s not really a day off. It’s certainly not what one could call a Sabbath.
Marking the Sabbath, spending that time apart from the world, is a hard thing to do, which is why it’s a habit that needs cultivating. As we move towards Advent, it seems like a good time to turn our attention to this practice. Getting ready for a time of getting ready, as it were.
If we’re trying to get better at marking the Sabbath, at accepting this time of rest, we have to undo some of what we’re told about productivity. For example, beyond my ordinary work, I’ve been thinking a lot about reviving some other projects - writing blog posts, becoming more disciplined about writing book reviews, tending my sourdough starter. This month I’m drafting a poem every day, something I do a few times a year. But the thing is that, while these are all worthwhile tasks, when you’re feeling overwhelmed (and who isn’t?), everything demands discipline. I mean, can’t I just stay in bed and watch reruns all day with my cats?
That quiet space, that connectedness to each other and to God, take practice, which is why it’s important to start small, to even look for those moments of prayer in everyday life. One thing that may be useful: prayer beads - and it doesn’t have to be a full scale Rosary. While there are many approaches to the Rosary that could be useful, it’s important to think about what you’ll actually commit to doing.
Some possibilities:
This blog post on Praying the Beatitudes offers a very specific focus of prayer.
Nan Lewis Doerr and Virginia Stem Owens authored a lovely book called Praying with Beads: Daily Prayers for the Christian Year which was one of my first encounters with the rosary outside Catholic settings.
During Whole Community Learning at Trinity Wall Street, children were encouraged to make beaded zipper pulls as a reminder of God’s presence no matter where they are. Depending on age, zipper pulls can offer a prompt for holy affirmations, the Lord’s Prayer, or other small moments of praise.
I wear fancy splints on my fingers due to health issues, but I’ve recently anchored these with several Saint Medals attached to the chains or other bracelets. The Saints I’ve chosen remind me of particular priorities - concerns I want to lift up in prayer - as I go about my daily life. They’re my version of a zipper pull.
Though we still have a few weeks to go until Advent - and you know they’ll hurry by - Advent makes it a little easier for us to mark holy time apart from society on Sundays if only through the lighting of the Advent wreath. In our house, Advent wreaths may or may not appear, mostly because there’s a good chance my cats will chew on the branches, but it ultimately doesn’t matter if you have real greens and candles or if you choose another pathway.
This year, I’ll be telling the Godly Play Advent story at home, as well as the transition of the Holy Family into the Advent season. And when I light those candles and then extinguish them, as the smoke spreads out through the room - in that moment we will be reminded of sacred presence: God With Us.
May God be with you as you seek the Sabbath, or at least a moment of prayer and connection.
Peace,
A. Bird