Sabbath Day

Today a dear friend called. We haven't lived in the same town for 9 years, but her impact on my life continues to be sweet and inspiring. Today she called me because it was her sabbath day and instead of cooking, doing laundry, or working she took time to call the important people in her life and catch up and say I love you and I'm glad we're friends.

You have to understand that Trina is the St. Francis of Assissi spirit in my life. At any one point in time she will have ducks in her backyard, baby chicks hatching, cats, big dogs, a hermit crab, all of which love to just hang out with her because she speaks their language and exudes a gentle spirit. While the animals love her, so does the garden. I drove up to her house one day 13 years ago without her expecting me and she looked like she just crawled out of a Victoria magazine. She had on a floral print dress, a big gardening straw hat, and her arm was looped through a wicker basket as she picked the organic vegetables from her stealth garden. She greeted me with "Oh, I'm a mess, but let's have some tea."

Having tea at Trinas is in itself a sabbath. The teapot is always on the stove and the teacups are just awaiting one to pluck it from her lovely chabby chic cupboard. Hardly any work is necessary for tea at Trina's because tea is part of her daily ritualistic attack at beauty and life. I can't count the number of times I sat on her lovely english floral sofa while she lit the fire with real wood and our talks of God, tea, good literature and mothering would ensue.

My first (and last) experience with a book club was with Trina. Except she didn't call it a book club. It was called Literary Circle. We read and discussed Bronte', Austin and the like. She taught me to see, read, and explore beauty in the every day life events, and rekindled romantic ideas that easily got swept away with my raising babies, being a preacher's wife and taking life way too serious. Thinking and dreaming with Trina is a sabbath.

The point is she has a 24 hour period every week that she doesn't do anything but relax, create something beautiful, and call up old friends to tell them she loves them. She loves God. What's so awesome about my friend Trina is that she teaches me about resting and just being every time I am with her. She makes me want to stop, enjoy God's beauty, take a rest and just be. She thinks she's being intentional about her sabbath, but her whole life seems to reflect the principle of sabbath and having a heart for God.