8/9/2025
"Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest."
Psalm 55:6
What do you think God does on His Sabbath rest? As He was creating each day of His masterpiece called "earth," what was He thinking?! Genesis relates that after the fourth day of creation, after dividing the light from darkness, He said that it was good. After the fifth day of creating birds in the air, filling the waters of the sea, He said that it was good. On the sixth day of creation He created living creatures, the beasts of the earth,, every kind that creeps, and "God saw that it was good. Then, He created man, breathing His breath into His lungs, and He fashioned woman from man, so He would not be alone. This God said was "very good." And on the seventh day, He rested. He was pleased with His creation, as the world was so perfectly designed to bring great pleasure and provide beauty beyond what we see with our eyes. Eden was perfect in every way, well-watered by the Lord, the wildlife lived in harmony with each other and with man. The sun and moon and stars glowed in the sky with clarity and radiance, no smog or irritants, no allergies, and I'll bet the insects weren't as bothersome as they are today. I wonder if they feasted on luscious fruits or green plants? If God made them, and if everything was good, then all of creation, including insects had to work in symbiotic relationships.
I woke up later than usual this morning, and although I slept well, or so I thought, my legs felt as if I'd run a marathon. I ask God to give me good dreams and speak to me, but I really haven't sat still long enough or focused enough to ask Him about it. I did dream, but they drifted out of sight, out of mind. Perhaps tonight I'll be more attuned to what God is saying to me. I hurried up and showered and dressed, as my Sabbath service began at 11 am Eastern time, right after the prayer call, and I don't like to miss a minute of it. The music alone brings me such joy. After moving here, my son, Daniel, told me that he thought I was happier than he'd ever seen me as I worship with my Jewish and Gentile friends, even if it online for me. Tennessee is pretty far for a weekly commute! But, he's right! As the Psalmist David said in Psalm 84:10: "For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness." One of my favorite psalms, Psalm 27 verse 4 puts it another way: "One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: that I ma dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple."
As I was considering my days growing up, Sabbath rest on Saturdays meant days with my grandparents, because we went to church on Sundays. In Sunday School we learned about keeping the Sabbath day holy, and we were taught that God rested on the seventh day after completing His glorious creation, but we were not told He commanded us to rest. What I remember is that He said to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Each day is Sabbath to me, because each day is holy and set apart for Him. Naturally, as a child I did not have a clear understanding of such theological preferences, but I did try my best to be holy. Whether it was Saturday or Sunday, my "rest" was found enjoying God's creation while living out my freedom as a child, carefree to be who God made me to be. As I've mentioned several times in recent posts, I love reading and climbing trees.
I guess I'll never outgrow my love of being off the ground, but I stay closer to earth these days, especially after my recent dangling from trees proved I'm not the "child" I used to be! Like this dear, sweet kindred spirit, I am finding better use of my daddy's old, rusty wheelbarrow!
It makes a pretty good second "retro" yard chair," don't ya think?! Whether I'm hanging from a tree vine or sitting safe and secure, I love being in nature, and I believe that gardens are God's secret places where we can steal away from the busyness of life and enjoy, as He did, all that His hands hath made. If the marvel and wonder of all life surrounding us in nature does not shout His Name, we have only to look to the stars and the skies, or the seas and the waves that echo His voice. God is everywhere we look, and He is in everything we see, where we walk, where we breathe His air and live out His purposes. May I forever be a child at heart who beholds the wonder with every breath I take.
"And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had
done.The God blessed the seventh day and sanctified
it, because in it He rested from all His work which
God had created and made."
Genesis 2:2-3
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