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Across the Pastor’s Desk by Charles Teixeira

I’m not a great runner, at least, not anymore.

In high school and in college, I ran track and cross country. To be honest, I was always average at best. I had a horrible habit of holding my breath when I was in the final stretch of a race, focusing more on my stride than my lungs. In the end, you can only run your race well if you take the time to breathe.

Being a parent now of an 11, 9, and 1 year old brings back that same feeling of breathlessness. Inevitably, one of our older boys always needs a ride somewhere or we’re chasing after our toddler — or most likely both. And just like most of you, I have a demanding job that leaves me feeling spent by the time I darken the doorway after work.

How did we get so busy? The easy answer can be found on our calendars. After all, we fill our time like never before. The amount of activities in any given week can be dizzying. We rush around because we fear losing the opportunity to live out some unknown experience. And in constantly chasing after the unknown value of other things, we lose the value of living in the moments God’s already given to us.

Let me encourage you, there’s another way to live. We don’t have to live in an endless cycle of rush and fear. We can be courageous enough to pause and know God still moves on our behalf.

We can slow down enough to realize the gifts God’s already placed in our lives and not endlessly search for what we don’t have. We can lay down our work for one day and know we’re, thankfully, not the lynchpin holding the world together.

Sabbath is the command to lay down our labors, pause our rushed lives and rest in the goodness of God. It is a gift I’ve too often left wrapped. Sabbath is a sacred, counter-cultural deep breath that testifies to the trustworthiness of God, who will care for us as we do. I invite you to try it, or return to it, again alongside me. Let’s all try for just one day to stop striving and just enjoy the life God has given us and him as the giver.

Charles Teixeira is a pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Albert Lea.