A Sabbath Morning

Today's blogpost is based on the section entitled "Morning from the Chapter "A Sabbath Day" in Wayne Muller's book "Sabbath".

What would a Sabbath morning look like for you? This question brought a story to mind. At a conference I attended some years ago, I heard Mike Yacconelli, a youth ministry guru, talk about how he and his wife wake their children. While he tends to go in, get them up and get them dressed, her approach is much different. She wakes them slowly, stoking their hair. As she holds them, she asks them about their dreams. They have conversations there in the stillness of the morning about the night before and the day to come.

One morning, the family was running late. Mike fussed at his wife saying, "Would you quit that nonsense and hurry up?! We have to go." Her response was that, no, she would not quit or hurry. If she didn't do this morning ritual, their children "would not be who they are called to be today."

I love this story. It reminds me, on the days when i seem to rushed to pay much attention to anything other than getting out the door, that I need to slow down, stroke my daughter's hair. I need to hold her close while she sits on my lap and drinks some milk. Together, we need to watch the morning sunlight glisten on the snow. I need to ask her about her dreams. If I don't she won't be who she's called to be today. Entering the day well is important -- too important to be skipped.

Likewise, I need to enter the day well. Every morning, not just on "Sabbath mornings" I begin with prayer. You may imagine a pastor's prayers to be formal recitations. But, not mine. I usually start by saying "Hi God, It's Leah." (Why I feel the need to reintroduce myself to God every morning, I don't know....it's odd, but I do it anyway.) I used to wake up and ask God what God had for me to do today. But, lately, I've been waking up with gratitude. My morning drive prayer usually begs the question of usefulness for the day.

These spiritual practices create Sabbath space every morning for me. What about you? What do your mornings look like? How can you have Sabbath space every morning?