A significant majority of my friends, followers (Facebook, Twitter, blog, print media, etc.) and acquaintances are decidedly not religious and are somewhat mystified by my use of such words as “Sabbath.” But let’s break it down quick and  simple: If God (Jesus, Higher Power, Yahweh, Good Orderly Direction, etc.) took a day off, then perhaps I should as well.

Honoring the Sabbath is not necessarily a religious activity, nor is it confined to Friday (Islam), Saturday (Judaism), or Sunday (Christianity), As a matter of fact, I work on Sundays. But not today, since church services have been cancelled due to the weather. Therefore the church is cancelled, but the Sabbath is not.

Like a computer that needs to shutdown once in a while to receive updates ~ I need a time set apart from the world that sometimes grinds me down and beats me up once in a while.

Declaring a Sabbath ~ even if it is a half day ~ gets me centered, calms me down, and helps me to prioritize my flurry of random and chaotic activities whose primary purpose sometimes seems to be merely to create more activities.

Now here comes the  “religion” or “spirituality” alert..

A large part of, purpose for, and benefit of declaring a Sabbath is to get spiritually fit. And the best way to do that, at  least in my life, is to use the time and place to reflect on the things I have to be grateful for ~ even this lousy, blizzard weather here in New York today. The barren trees remind of my sometimes barren soul. The gale force winds remind me of the emotional gales that sometimes sweep over the surface of my life. The hissing of the radiators reminds me that I, unlike countless others, have heat and a home. My silent breath reminds me that with rarely even a single “thank you” my body continues to be of service to me… and, in gratitude, I  continue to be of service to a great and good God of my understanding.

But in order to to that  I need to rest and reflect ~ and I do so in the spirit of a loving God who  has granted me yet  another day to count my countless blessings and to be of use to others…