In keeping with our Lifesprings International annual tradition of celebrating a month of Sabbath rest, we invite you to join us for the month of August (which we call Breather Month) to intentionally set aside times of rest with God. We will take a break from our regular rhythms of meetings and gatherings and set aside time to be with God, perhaps exploring practicing spiritual disciplines, taking time for a nature walk, to enjoy God’s creation, enjoying extended time of listening prayer, and scripture meditation, focusing on resting with God. Our writers reflections will describe personal testimony of sabbath rest based on a scripture of their choosing. We invite you to join us in first meditating and digesting this passage slowly using lectio divina and then read the reflection.
Listen:
“And the Lord God planted a garden in the East, in Eden (delight, land of happiness). (Genesis 2:8a, The Message)
Reflect:
Dan Allender wrote in his book “Sabbath”: “Sabbath is not about time off or a break in routine. It is not a mini vacation to give us respite so we are better prepared to go back to work. The sabbath is far more than a diversion: it is meant to be an encounter with God’s delight”.
Many things could be said about the do’s and the don’ts in relation to sabbath rest.
But I would like to focus on “the delight” part. When God created the Garden of Eden (the garden of delight), I imagine that He and Adam walked together in awe of all they saw: flowers, plants, trees, animals, and rivers.
For me personally, sabbath rest is walking with my husband Barth through our garden. He sees things I did not notice, and I point out things he has not yet discovered. The variety is overwhelming and it looks different every season and year.
This year, we have apricots for the first time, and more pears than before, no goosberries and lots of raspberries!
And in addition to my delight, our 6 year old granddaughter Emmy, loves to explore the garden. She finds the ready strawberries, which will disappear in her mouth, She shows great interest in the lavender, and Barth gave her permission to cut them all. We explained that the smell is so nice, that you can dry the flowers and put them in a little bag and you can hide it between your clothes for a lovely smell! She watches the butterflies, wants to know their names and gets so excited!
And all of this with the singing of the blackbirds!
Prayer of Response:
“Lord forgive us as we often forget to take delight in the things You have provided for us. Help us to be more intentional in this aspect of the sabbath rest. And thank You for so many things we can rejoice about!”
Questions to Ponder:
- Do you believe that God wants you to have a day of wonder, delight and joy
- What are the things you find delight in?
- Which part of creation gives you the most delight?
Breath Prayers:
Join us in praying breath prayers each day. We invite you to write your own as well.
Inhale (Breathe in): Creator God
Exhale (Breathe out): You are my delight!
(Repeat)
—Submitted by: Mathilde Companjen
Mathilde is Dutch and has been a part of Lifesprings for 20 years. With joy, she serves on the prayer team that meets every Monday, year round. She has been married to Barth for 51 years, has 4 married daughters and 4 grandkids. And the 26th of July she and her husband became great grandparents to Sep Edon! They have been involved in mission for over 40 years, and their love for Jesus has only grown!
She sends lots of love from Ermelo, the Netherlands!