Is anyone else interested in finding a reset button, after surviving the year and half we’ve just had? If only we could start fresh tomorrow morning, with a clean slate for our relationships, healthier lifestyle choices and a few less mistakes. I’d be quick to spend less time consuming destructive amounts of social media, more time exploring nature, and probably work in a few extra mornings of sleeping in.
While I have yet to find the verse in scripture that promises a complete “do-over,” I am familiar with God’s promise for new beginnings:
Isaiah 43:18-19
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.”
We follow a God who has created our lives and environment to center around rhythms. From the rising of the sun each morning, to the changing of the seasons and the fresh outpourings of His grace. He returns again and again, with promises of hope and new things, and invites us to do the same. I’ve found that the greatest access to joining Him in those cycles is found in rest and reflection.
September 7th, 2021 marks the beginning of a year observed in Jewish tradition, known as Shmita, or the “Year of Release.” In following the tradition of working for 6 days and resting on the 7th, Jewish people honor every 7th year as one of rest. During this Shmita year, “debts are to be forgiven, agricultural lands to lie fallow, private land holdings to become open to the commons, and staples such as food storage and perennial harvests to be freely redistributed and accessible to all.” This practice was first noted in Exodus 23:10-11, and it allows for the land, animals, and people to rest. I imagine there’s also a significant amount of time to reflect during this season, as the mind, once busy with work, is now still and focused on remaining present.
I took much solace in this invitation to set aside expectations and productivity for such a significant amount of time, trusting God’s faithfulness to provide and allowing space for His rhythms to cycle through. How beautiful to know of a group of people engaging in this practice, and to acknowledge that as His children, God permits us to participate in rest and reflection on a regular basis.
How might we benefit by further engaging in God’s rhythms of rest? What new beginnings might we become more keen to, as we still our minds, reflect on where we’ve been and consider what He yet has for us? How may his cycles of rest and reflection create opportunities for us to heal?
About the Author
Britni is a quiet but fearless spirit who is earnestly seeking the beauty of the redemption that Jesus has personally determined for her life. Committed to the truth that listening breeds understanding and understanding results in compassion, she clings to the power of life’s stories. She has embarked on the venture of discovering her own story and lending an ear to the stories lived out in others and savors the trace of Jesus that is woven throughout them all. Currently, that journey has landed her in a balancing act between the role of wife, momma, and a mental health Care Coordinator.