I hope you have had time for relaxation over this long hot summer. Sabbath rest – the need for proper periods of stepping away from routine work whether creative, practical or dutiful – has been baked into Creation from the very start. Do we rest enough I wonder? I read recently that UK adults spend over 7 hours a day on screens of one form or another, even in the holidays. Screens of course can be fun, but are we confusing distraction with rest?
If so, might this be a problem? For in that very first chapter of the Bible there is interwoven another principle – the importance of reflective savouring of that which is good:
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
Genesis 1:31a NIV
And savouring something involves a stilling, and a noticing. This August in Cornwall I have been leaving my phone behind on walks. Usually it comes out several times – to look up a butterfly, or check a fact, or send a text. All pulling me away from where I am. This last month I have tried simply walking, and noticing, and savouring. And there is so much to see. How the wind eddies through the trees. How the swifts dart and dive, the kestrels hover and the seagulls are everywhere. How that stone looks just like a shark’s tooth.
And this savouring is made holy by savouring the Giver along with the gifts. No words needed, certainly no screens. Just watching the children play – and remembering how much Jesus loves them too. Walking through a cloud of Painted Lady butterflies – and glorying in the creative abundance of our Creator God.
This September the pace of life will pick up again, but there is always time for stilling, and noticing, and savouring.
Sarah Shackleton
This article originally appeared in the St John’s Messenger. If you would like to discuss contributing a future article please contact news@valebenefice.org.uk.
