Two evenings ago I found myself trying to feed blossom, whilst on the phone to Mother Flower, at the same time as preparing dinner for Mr Flower and myself - Ridiculous behaviour but how often do we create these multitasking nightmares that leave us shattered and resentful.
Discussing my behaviour with said husband later that night we commented on how the crazy thing is if we just focused on one thing at a time we'd probably get as much done but actually enjoy the experience and be present for each task rather than none.
It certainly didn't value the other people involved, I can't recall the subject matter of the conversation and I barely noticed cooking the meal let alone enjoying the process.
What's even more frustrating is that recently I was leading a group exploring 'rest' and sabbath living, one thing that we touched on was how this notion that constant multi-tasking and being busy-to-breaking point is just the way life and culture. As TS Elliott lamented "What’s particularly discouraging is the people I meet feel resigned to a life in which there is no alternative; a life in which we are all destined to be “distracted from distraction by distraction”.
But isn't it actually our choice? We choose whether we live with the cultural narrative or counter it. If Jesus had come to my kitchen this week I can imagine a parable would have followed! And I feel sure the notion that 'the world might cease turning if we even stop momentarily' would definitely be on his myth busting agenda. After all stress related illnesses are ever rising and mental health issues are too surely that's no coincidence, we're not designed to be flat out all the time. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world???
Talking about his experience of taking a sabbath day each week Rob Bell says...
I decided to start taking one day a week to cease from work. And what I discovered is that I couldn’t even do it at first.
I would go into depression.
By the afternoon I would be so . . . low.
I realized that my life was all about keeping the adrenaline buzz going and that I was only really happy when I was going all the time. When I stopped to spend a day to remember that I am loved just because I exist, I found out how much of my efforts were about earning something I already have.
Sabbath is taking a day a week to remind myself that I did not make the world and that it will continue to exist without my efforts.
Sabbath is a day when my work is done, even if it isn’t.
Sabbath is a day when my job is to enjoy. Period.
Sabbath is a day when I am fully available to myself and those I love most.
Sabbath is a day when I remember that when God made the world, he saw that it was good.
Sabbath is a day when I produce nothing.
Sabbath is a day when I remind myself that I am not a machine.
Sabbath is a day when at the end I say, “I didn’t do anything today,” and I don’t add, “And I feel so guilty.”
Sabbath is a day when my phone is turned off, I don’t check my email, and you can’t get ahold of me.
Jesus wants to heal our souls, wants to give us the shalom of God. And so we have to stop. We have to slow down. We have to sit still and stare out the window and let the engine come to an idle. We have to listen to what our inner voice is saying.
There are so many layers to the healing of the soul... Now when we read the word Sabbath, most of us think that the real issue behind the Sabbath isn’t which day of the week it is but how we live all the time.
A challenge worth considering, especially at this time of year?
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