– Rev. Vickie Woolard
I asked him why we don’t have ‘do nothing days’ more often.
He and I were sitting on the loveseat in our hotel room yesterday, the one that overlooked the Cape Fear River.
It’s funny, we lived here for awhile, many years ago when we were young, and we hardly ever came down to the river.
It wasn’t our river, maybe, not the dark waters of the Scuppernong that flows thick as life blood through our days.
It didn’t feel like home.
But we sat and watched rain fall, not heavy rain, but sprinkles, pattering against the windows of our room and leaving wet trails down the glass.
And he answered me, more quickly than I think he should have, “Because we have ‘do something’ stuff all the time.”
He’s right, My Boy is.
He usually is.
Somehow it feels like we have things to do all the time.
There are chores at the house, chores at the farm, words to write, reports to complete.
There are phone calls to make, emails to answer, laundry.
Do something stuff, all the time.
Maybe, I think, maybe the key to having the energy to do all the do something stuff is, have do nothing days.
The idea of Sabbath is a recurring one for me.
My friends and I all talk about it, about Sabbath.
About time away from work, about time to spend making good food with friends, time spent having deep conversations with the people we care for.
I find the sacred lives in good conversations, between the words we speak and the silences that linger.
The holy.
The sacred.
Words that nourish and words that build us up.
Word like peace.
Like rest.
Like beloved.
Like worthy and like, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11.28-29a).
Sweet words.
May we all find rest for our souls.
Blessings,
Vickie
Adapted by permission from Vickie Woolard’s Facebook page.