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One of the best parts of smoking a cigar is the commitment you make every time you light one: a dedication that, for at least an hour, you are going to be in the same place. Most often this comes to mind for me as I consider the diversity of folks I’ve met over the years in sharing the hobby. Settling in to a large, comfortable chair, you find yourself surrounded by people you’ve never met, and may not have chosen to given a more commonplace opportunity. But here we all are, for at least an hour, so hands are shaken, stories are shared, and often new relationships begin. Recently I’ve considered the commitment to be still as a blessing of its own. The recognition of its place in self-care, of our need for rest, even the commandment for Sabbath. The importance of Sabbath cannot be understated, and yet I doubt I’m alone in confessing a struggle to make room for it. There is always more work to be done, always a choice between rest and accomplishment, play and performance, made all the more difficult in a culture that preaches achievement above all else. To that culture, Walter Brueggemann names Sabbath as resistance, a faithful and countercultural act that enables us to connect with something more. A practice that reimagines our lives in ways that move us “away from coercion and competition to compassionate solidarity… Sabbath is not simply the pause that refreshes. It is the pause that transforms.” Some of this undoubtably grows out of excitement for my own vacation next week. I’ll be in New York with my best friend, taking in La bohème at the Met, soup dumplings on Bayard Street, a homestand against the Braves… it’s going to be a good week. A blessed pause. I share that because I’m excited, but also because the importance is not in the how. The importance is the importance. The need. The commandment for Sabbath. A cigar might not sound delightful for you, nor perhaps does going to the opera or a baseball game. But I invite you to find rest. Find it and claim it. And if you don’t find it, make it. Practice it for your life, for your soul, and for those you love and love you. My prayer is that our journeys would include Sabbath, and that through it we would be refreshed and transformed. And for that journey, I say: Godspeed! Rev. Ben Richards
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