Sabbath is a state of mind

The house is quiet. The baby is asleep and MM is at soccer practice with her daddy. I'm drinking a glass of wine and breathing deeply.

I don't have a sermon for Sunday. (Well, truth be told, I have five sermons for Sunday all smooshed into one; so I need to discern which one needs to be preached this Sunday.)I have to work much of the weekend--meeting tomorrow in Madison and meeting Saturday in Jackson. But there have been and will be moments of Sabbath in the midst.

My mom was here for two nights, helping get MM's room in order and hanging pictures in my home. There's something holy about being with my mother...we cook and work together easily, but it's also that with her around, I'm not just a wife and a mother but I also get to be a daughter. I name that as holy time for me this week.

I took J to the grocery store yesterday and we played a silly game where I stuck the post-it note list on my nose and pretended to sneeze it off, and he laughed and laughed, great big baby belly-guffaws. That is holy time for me this week.

Fridays are holy time, when I don't go into the office and get to hang out with David and Jack.

Tomorrow I meet with my spiritual director, more holy time that helps me gain perspective.

And tomorrow night, I get to have supper with two of my oldest friends...together they help me remember who I have been, even as I realize that who I am now is almost a different person.

Sabbath time is when I stop and recognize God's presence in my life and in the world. When I remember that God is God and I am not, and when I can give thanks for that reminder and that orientation.

Quiet house. Glass of wine. End of a work-week. Amen.