quote of the month - christina reeves

Work is not always required.  There is such a thing as sacred idleness. -George MacDonald

​I was looking through my book of quotes and this one got my attention.  I believe The Bible would refer to “sacred idleness” as the Sabbath. But what exactly is Sabbath?
My husband John and I were debating this one night.  Are picking up a few things at the grocery store or Home Depot while we’re in town after church considered Sabbath?  I was perturbed so I prayed about it.  What should our rest look like?  The next morning in my devotional, I read this from Rabbi Abraham Heschel:

Six days a week we wrestle with the world, wringing profit from the earth; on the Sabbath, we especially care for the seeds of eternity planted in the soul. -​Rabbi Abraham Heschel

I don’t know if God is concerned about groceries and household project shopping, just like Jesus told the man he healed to “carry his mat”, but I have a feeling that He wants my Sabbaths to include “sacred idleness” that “cares for the seeds of eternity planted in my soul”.
Your Fellow Sojourner,
Christina

May this day bring sabbath rest to my heart and my home.
May God’s image in me be restored, and my imagination in God be re-storied.
May the gravity of material things be lightened, and the relativity of time slow down.
May I know grace to embrace my own finite smallness in the arms of God’s infinite greatness. 
May God’s Word feed me and His Spirit lead me into the week and into the life to come.
Peter Greig, A Sabbath Prayer