keep it holy

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"Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy." "Amen. Lord have mercy." 
--Book of Common Prayer p. 350, see also, the Bible. 

 My mentor, the Rev. Beth Fain, often pointed out to people that this is the most commonly broken of the 10 Commandments. What a gift it was to have a rector who modeled self care by going on retreat, and having a weekly "Sabbath Day" instead of just a "day off."

My friend and colleague John Price, a Houston-based psychologist and teacher, was recently musing on the sacred act of sleep: that time when we let go of control and allow our bodies to heal and our unconscious to speak to us in dreams.

Most of the teachings of our culture are against rest, yet rest may be the greatest act of trusting God. In the New Zealand Prayer Book we pray in the Night Prayer Service "It is but lost labour that we haste to rise up early, and so late take rest, and eat the bread of anxiety. For those beloved of God are given gifts even while they sleep."

 Having taken our rest, be it a weekly day off by any name, an annual vacation, or just stepping away from a problem long enough to get clarity, we often return better prepare to do the work we have to do. 

With these thoughts, I'm signing off by blog for the summer (I stop my regular writing projects each summer.) I slow down on some things to spend time doing other things; like spend time with family and friends, trying to keep it holy.

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