Wednesday-day of rest, day of peace. Wednesday I’m out of the office. I have so much to do to get ready for Christmas but my soul needs rest.  The Lord knew we needed Sabbath.  A day of rest is not a mandate, it is a gift.  How often I do not accept this gift.  My Sabbath is caught in little bits of time set aside for contemplation, writing and prayer.  Often Wednesday mornings, even though I could sleep in, I don’t.  I get up for my breakfast and coffee.  I read a chapter of scripture and write.  If I truly want rest for my soul, I don’t check emails or Facebook.  That’s difficult sometimes.

We live in a culture that’s on the go constantly.  Our schedules are packed to the brim and overflowing.  I’m used to a schedule of 15 minute increments moving from room to room seeing patients.  This puts me in a constant state of anticipating what’s next.  I’m sure I’m not the only one on this treadmill.  I envy my friends who have retired and now set their own schedules.  I wonder sometimes if I will be bored with retirement since I am used to so much activity.  Somehow I think my retirement time will be full as well.

So how do we step out of this craziness?  I believe we do it one choice at a time.  We choose to make our schedules overly busy.  Granted some things are out of our control, but if we really look closely, many choices are ours.  I remember a particularly hectic early morning when my kids were still little.  Their dad was off to the airport to travel out of the country for his job and I had just had a call from labor and delivery that my patient was ready to start pushing.  We had to call Dan’s mom to come over to watch the kids since we both had to leave the same time.  It was 4 am!  I looked at Dan and said, “Something has to change!  Either you quit your job or I quit mine.  We can’t make a habit of doing this.”  This was an epiphany of sorts.  It wasn’t long after this that things began to change.  Dan quit his job to start his own business and I gave up OB.  Both of these choices kept us home much more.  Our lives were still super busy but not crazy busy.  There is a difference.

When my patients tell me that they can’t slow down, I give them this personal example.  Yes, everyone can slow down and set aside some Sabbath time if they choose.  Everyone has areas in their life in which they just need to say “NO”.  If we say “yes” to every request and activity, we are no good in any of them.  My first step in this direction was when I came to the realization that I don’t need to do it all.  I thought as a physician that I needed to see patients in the office, in the hospital, in the nursing home, deliver babies and try to be Super Mom.  I tried this for a while.  Believe me, it doesn’t work.  I loved my OB patients and I delivered babies for the first 10 years of practice.  But cutting this out made a huge difference.  Now if I said I was going to be somewhere, I didn’t have to worry that I would be called out.  I rarely had to go to the hospital in the middle of the night anymore.

So why did I keep doing this for 10 years?  Was it pride or was it guilt that if I didn’t do it all, I wasn’t good enough?  Maybe it was a bit of both.  But either way, thinking we must “do it all”, whatever that means to each of us, is a falsehood.  We need to just get rid of that thought right now.  Take an inventory of all your activities.  Do this with your kids activities too.  Which ones need to stay and which ones need to go?  Usually those activities that enhance relationships are keepers.  Simplify Christmas too.  Everything does not have to be perfect to be wonderful.  I need to keep telling myself this over and over.  It’s Jesus birthday.  I bet it wasn’t Mary’s idea to deliver him in a stable.  Do I need to say more?

Sabbath rest does not have to be on a Sunday but it does have to be a choice.  Soul rest is just as important as a good night’s sleep.  Now take a deep breath and find your Sabbath.