Tending to My Own Eden (Sabbath, Part 6)

[This is a continuation of a series from the message I gave at the Creekside Women’s Retreat. To read the whole series, click here. Please also read my disclaimer in part 1!]

It’s been a long journey for me to learn about sabbath, and how to control that inner machinery. Just last week, as I prepared for this opportunity to speak, I had a teaching moment with God.

My husband and I bought our first home two years ago, and a major factor in the house we chose was the size of the yard. We looked out the sliding glass door to the backyard, in early January when it was covered in snow, and said “Wow, this yard needs a dog! And some kids!!”

But the funny thing about a giant backyard is that grass grows, and therefore, needs mowing. This time of year, it grows unnecessarily fast in these parts. And really, you can’t let it go more than two weeks without becoming “those people” and single-handedly bringing down the value of all the homes around you. (I’m a bit of a reactionary, can you tell?)

Four weeks ago, Matt hurt his back. And so, the lawn sat untended. (So much work for one person - I couldn't fathom doing it myself...) And it sat. And it sat. And it sat. And here we are - almost two weeks overdue. I arrive home one day, take a look at my very successful crop of dandelions and I think “Oh, maaaan, what will the neighbors think!?”

And fresh on the heels of that thought comes the Spirit: “Oh yeah? The neighbors? How about me? Do you care what I think?”

Ouch. Sorry, Lord. I don’t tell you this to give you a reason not to mow your lawn - in fact the opposite is true. God has given us this home - when we thought we’d never be able to afford a home - and therefore we will be held accountable for stewarding it well. Like Eden, that which God has given me must be tended. Instead, I tell you this because it’s a motivation check. You see, if I was truly worried about what the neighbors thought, mowing my lawn would be weary, burdensome work. But if I am finding my identity in Christ, and therefore only concerned with His opinion, then I am liberated from these worries and instead can focus on what He has asked me to do - tend to my own little Eden, and to do so at rest, because that blasted inner machine has been shut off. Hooray!