The Sabbath has been on my mind & heart lately.

Here in Malawi – there is a lot of time to think. There is a lot of time to be still. There is a lot of time to listen. This is great right? Yes, so great – but so hard too. The hard part is letting go of the 27 years prior to this one where life was busy, busy, busy (besides age 1-10 maybe) and I was never able to practice thinking, being still, or listening very well. I feel like a guilty slug for sitting still & I know a lot of people who also feel guilty about it too.

I got through the end of Leviticus yesterday – and man, was it a challenging task. It’s jam packed with all sorts of crazy rules that God gave to Israel back near the beginning. Rules about sacrifice – rules about sickness – rules about sex & food. Rules about everything. Many times throughout the book, Moses writes that the Lord commanded the Israelites to keep the Sabbath – He’s always talking about it. In Exodus, God, (after saving the day big time in Egypt) tells Moses to tell the Israelites, “Observe the Sabbath day, keep it holy. Work six days & do everything you need to. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to God, your God. Don’t do any work. Not you, nor your son, nor your daughter…for in six days God made heaven, Earth, and sea, & everything in them; he rested on the seventh day. Therefore God blessed the Sabbath day; he set it apart as a holy day.” God even tells the Israelites to give the land a Sabbath year every seventh year – even the land gets a break.

God commanded his people to rest. Be still. Take a load off.

I was reading Velvet Elvis (by Rob Bell) this morning when the Sabbath came up again. He was writing on the subject of healing, & he was describing a time when he needed some in his life. He said:

“There are so many layers to the healing of the soul. One practice that has brought incredible healing is the taking of a Sabbath. Now when we read the word Sabbath, most of us think of a day in the week, which is what it is. But I have learned that the real issue behind the Sabbath isn’t which day of the week it is but how we live all the time.

I decided to start taking one day a week to cease from work. And what I discovered is that I couldn’t even do it at first. I would go into a depression. By the afternoon I would be so…low.

Sabbath is taking a day a week to remind myself that I did not make the world & that it will continue to exist without my efforts.

Sabbath is a day when my work is done, even if it isn’t.

Sabbath is a day when my job is to enjoy. Period. Sabbath is a day when I am fully available to myself and those I love most.

Sabbath is a day when I remember that when God made the world, he saw that it was good.

Sabbath is a day when I produce nothing.

I realized that my life was all about keeping the adrenaline buzz going and that I was only really happy when I was going all the time. When I stopped to spend a day to remember that I am loved just because I exist, I found out how much of my efforts were about earning something I already have.

Sabbath is a day when I remind myself that I am not a machine.

Sabbath is a day when at the end I say, “I didn’t do anything today,” and I don’t add, “And I feel so guilty.”

Sabbath is a day when my phone is turned off, I don’t check my email, and you can’t get a hold of me.

Jesus wants to heal our souls, wants to give us the shalom of God. And so we have to stop. We have to slow down. We have to sit still and stare out the window & let the engine come to an idle. We have to listen to what our inner voice is saying.”

Think. Be still. Listen.

Mandatory time to chill out.

Because of the perfect environment that Malawi provides to practice this – I’m committing myself to making it happen for 27 & beyond.

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About 3 weeks ago, I remember very distinctly talking to God and asking for an opportunity to live life with the people around us. At a similar time I began walking into our local town in an effort to be available to any opportunities that came along to do so. Since then, I have had the chance to wake up more than half a dozen times to walk up an enormous hill at sunrise (which is 5:00am here) to meet a group of young men to play football. I have found in my time here that there are two things that break down cultural barriers. The first is attempting to speak the language of the people of Malawi. And the second is football. The latter is much easier and personally more enjoyable.

By 5:30am there are about 20-25 men eager to play.

The pitch is entirely dirt except for the small part that is covered by two bushes that invade the field, forcing you to play around them – or allowing you to strategically use to create extra time to make a decision with the ball. Although I love playing with these guys, I can currently only remember about 10 names out of the 25.

I have been able to tangibly see relationships grow as we begin our days together. The current struggle is figuring out how to get to the next level of the relationship. How do we begin having conversations about life and faith, and not just football?

I guess I should start by asking God again for an opportunity and simply making myself open and available the next time I see one.

Hospitality in Malawi is critical – critical to the art of the relationship. We have noticed one thing in abundance since arriving two months ago in Blantyre: many hospitable & warm hearts. A week ago we were able to have lunch with a new Malawian friend at his home. Timothy was our waiter at a restaurant where we frequent to answer emails and work on our newsletter. On our third visit, he asked us to come to his home for a meal. We agreed happily.

We met him outside the restaurant and, as he led us through the town of Chilomoni to his home – he was like an eager kid waiting for the first day of school. Timothy has four children and told us that the whole family was watching the clock in anticipation of the ulendo – visitors.

After arriving to the village we were taken on a tour while Evelyn, Thomas’ wife prepared fresh chicken and spaghetti. Timothy told us again how honored he was that we are his guests. His youngest daughter had never seen azungu or a white person before and cried every time I looked at her – which was often because I find Malawian little girls to be the most adorable children on the planet. Her tears were a constant addition to our afternoon. Sigh.

When lunch was ready, Timothy walked us through the process of washing our hands (something that happens at the table in Malawi) & saying grace. Lunch was an incredible spread of spaghetti, freshly fried chicken (not at all like KFC folks) & leafy vegetables. We felt like royalty with such a great spread, and Timothy felt like royalty because we were in his home. He told us so countless times.

There is a big difference between entertaining & exercising hospitality. Opening your home – even however humble – and offering whatever you have to your guests – is a precious lesson in hospitality we won’t be forgetting anytime soon. Thanks Timothy, Evelyn, Chrissi, Ernest, Vincent, & Praise (although I’m sorry for making you cry) for being our teachers.

Had I chosen the large industrial strength & convenient broom, I would’ve missed out on that great opportunity to engage in community. I’m feeling the Malawian interpretation of community all over – and I love it.