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On the seventh day of Creation, God rested.  We don’t often pause and ponder what that seventh day may have looked like.  All we are told is that God finished the work he had been doing, so he rested on the seventh day from his work.  And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. 

Much later, after the Israelites left Egypt – and after the pursuing Egyptian army was swallowed up by the sea – the Israelites were provided with food and water – from dew and rocks.  But the Israelites were a grumbling group.  During that time, God directed Moses to set aside a day of rest – a holy Sabbath to the Lord.  Included with the instruction, everyone was to stay where they were on the seventh day; no one was to go out.  The idea was that the Sabbath day was created for rest. 

People were not intended to do any work on the Sabbath day.  This rhythm God created was important.  Indeed, the Lord’s penalty for working on the Sabbath was death!  In addition, a Sabbath provision was also given for the land.  It designated a resting period for the land during the seventh year after six years of sowing and harvesting.  This rhythm was not followed; the land – and the people – ended up desolated and the Bible records that the land enjoyed its Sabbath rests during these periods of desolation.

It is interesting to me that the biblical instruction for Sabbath is the exact message we are being given in response to the coronavirus:  Everyone is to stay where they are; no on is to go out.  It is also interesting to me that the main practices we are now constantly being advised to adhere to are washing our hands and getting rest.  The most common word we now hear is “unprecedented.”  But, interestingly enough, the “unprecedented” principles being incorporated today – on a grand and daily scale – were appropriated long ago for the protection and safety of humanity and the world!

Perhaps something of the magnitude of a “pandemic” is getting attention that, interestingly enough, is forcing a period of Sabbath!  The idea of pausing from our work and other activities is unheard of – “unprecedented”!  Fear is incubating about our economic future.  Though we have been provided with so much more than dew and rocks, we are prone to grumble.

Perhaps we are being blessed with a Sabbath we have been unwilling to implement in our lives.  Perhaps it is time to pause and ponder what that seventh day may have looked like.

Perhaps this is a holy time.

United we stand, divided we fall.

I am deeply disturbed by the great divides that are severing the unity in these United States.  Perhaps I am so disturbed because I so strongly disagree with the ideology that appears to be fueling the movements of our time.  Perhaps I am so disturbed because the rhetoric is so vitriolic.  Perhaps I am so disturbed because the strong values that undergirded our great country appear to be disintegrating, not the least of which is In God We Trust. 

We have huge societal problems for which the prevailing answers only further exacerbate the problems.  We have an opioid crisis for which “safe injection sites” are suggested.  We have a homelessness crisis for which laws are passed requiring low-income housing be apportioned, and the homeless advocate for their “right” to have shelter provided for them.  It seems everyone has a reason to self-identify with some cause for which they should receive special consideration and accommodation.

It seems our laws written to protect people who may be potentially subject to discrimination have unwittingly defined categories by which people can self-discriminate in order to secure unusual privilege or opportunity.  Is this result the intended effect, because in so doing, the playing field is made more “equal”?  What about the additional result of separating people and defining them by such categories so that they are identified accordingly – not as human beings; not as Americans; not as neighbors or friends or coworkers – but as:  old, female, black, disabled, or of some particular sexual persuasion or identity?  Isn’t the very act of categorizing them accordingly discriminating?  Are we, therefore, being taught to think in terms of discrimination?  Is that beneficial or furthering harm?

Is it uniting – or separating?

After 9/11, elaborate reactionary processes were implemented to arguably protect us.  Flying on an airplane became a much more complicated endeavor involving invasive security checks and advanced identification requirements.  Now, we are in the midst of a purported “pandemic” involving a virus.  Overnight, bottles of hand sanitizers have appeared everywhere.  Full hazmat suited people are wandering around spraying chemical disinfectants and CEOs are sending out emails touting their tedious attention to “safety,” outlining their cleaning and sanitizing practices.  Every other minute, we are directed by the media to wash our hands.  For those people who weren’t in the habit of washing their hands, maybe better habits will now be developed.  For the rest of us, if the virus doesn’t kill us, maybe all of the additional chemicals now being doused all over everything will!

Face masks are being donned in public places and new regulations are coming out for “social distancing.”  No more hugging.  No more handshakes.  It’s an arm bump at best.  But likely, no touching will soon become part of the protocol.  “Social distancing” discourages people from gathering together.  In fact, you should stay six feet away from others in order to protect yourself and them.

I appreciate the importance of good hygiene, and I am passionate about staying healthy and maintaining healthy habits.  But I don’t consider either harsh chemicals or social isolation healthy.  It’s only temporary, you argue, during these extreme circumstances.  Yes, concerts and conferences will be rescheduled after the immediate threat appears to go away.  Parades will return.  Stadiums will fill up again.  People may relax back into their less fastidious cleaning practices.  We shall see what becomes of the touching.

In a society already overrun by a warped and perverted image of sex and sexuality, healthy physical contact is already in grave danger!  Human physical contact can be very lifegiving.  Indeed, perhaps a hug is the most powerful healing antidote there is!

Wash your hands.  Apply chemicals everywhere.  Stay away from everyone.  What do they say, One out of three ain’t bad?  I’ll keep washing my hands.

All of the politicians say, “We’re in this together.”  …But stay away from everyone.  United we stand, divided we fall.

Which is it?  Together?  Or separated?  Are we standing?  Or falling?

Today, to the shock of the world, Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, along with seven others who were in the helicopter.  They were on their way to Thousand Oaks where Kobe was coaching his daughter’s basketball team.

One could not travel through this period of history without some familiarity of Kobe Bryant.  Though I, of course, did not know him other than publicly, his death still stuns.  I grieve and shed my own tears.  The phenomenon gives me pause.  My response feels deeply personal.  Many of the comments from people who get quoted are about how Kobe Bryant’s life impacted so many people.  Who would guess I would be one of them?

So I ponder.  Why am I so affected by this news?  Is it because here is a successful man who spent time with his daughter?  How awesome would it be to be coached by one of the greatest basketball players ever – and that coach also happens to be your father?  Is it because a wife and three other young children must instantly transition to the permanent absence of husband, father, and sister?  Is it because there is something “soul powerful” when a human being lives his or her life in passionate union with his or her giftedness?  Or is it just because life is sacred?  Having it snatched away abruptly leaves me stunned.  There is nothing to say because you cannot change it.  Even though it seems wrong and unbelievable, it is done.  No choices can be undone.  No slight deviation can change the outcome.  No do over is available.  It is, simply, done.

Then I wonder about all of the people who have graced my life and impacted me.  Some perhaps only fleetingly.  What about the guy at Fred Meyer who monitors the self-checkout lanes where I buy groceries?  What about these people in their cars next to me at the light?  What about my neighbors, whom I don’t know well?  I would probably grieve over their loss, too, were I to hear of it.

This matter of death may be the one most powerful indicator of life that there is!  It is the place where you have to reckon with your Creator. 

I marvel at the miracle of new life being born into the world.  And I marvel at life being taken out of it.  Both are mysterious.  Wondrous.  Beyond the fingertips of fathom.  Both bring us to the feet of something – or Someone – greater than ourselves.  Both impress upon me the sacredness of life.

If even these fleeting “graces” have an impact, do I live my life like it matters?  How many times do I dismiss someone because they are in my way?  How many times do I get irritated by someone’s rude or thoughtless behavior?  How much does my presence offer “grace” to the fleeting encounter?  How well do I care for these people for whom I feel surprisingly deeply personal? 

How much do I allow my life – my little sacred stint in this world – to matter?

That is the question I am going to ponder.  And my prayer is that through it I will be compelled to live with a deeper sense of the fleeting graces that remind me of the sacredness in every moment.

Sheeperfect^® Everything & Allergies: Peppermint, Lavender, Lemon

Sheeperfect^® Anger Therapy: Lavender, Sweet orange, Myrrh, Ylang ylang

Sheeperfect^® A1C/Blood Sugar: Lavender, Cinnamon

Sheeperfect^® Bug Away: Lemongrass, Geranium, Sweet orange, Ylang ylang

Sheeperfect^® Comfort and Joy: Sweet orange, Geranium, Lavender, Lemon, Ylang ylang, Vanilla

 Sheeperfect^® Confidence, Clarity and Balance: Lavender, Bergamot, Ylang ylang, Cedarwood

Sheeperfect^® Depression: Frankincense, Lime, Peppermint, Sweet orange

Sheeperfect^® Forgiveness: Bergamot, Thyme, Lemon

Sheeperfect^® Fresh Face: Tea tree, Lemon, Lavender

Sheeperfect^® Hand Sanitizer: Rosemary, Sweet orange, Clove, Tea tree

Sheeperfect^® Headache Relief: Peppermint, Frankincense, Lavender

Sheeperfect^® Hot Flash Relief: Peppermint, Sweet orange

Sheeperfect^® Inspiration and Spiritual Grounding: Sweet orange, Lavender, Cedarwood

Sheeperfect^® Lift: Sweet orange, Frankincense, Cinnamon

Sheeperfect^® Love Yourself: Cedarwood, Geranium, Sweet orange, Ylang ylang, Myrrh

Sheeperfect^® Menopause Relief: Lavender, Peppermint, Neroli, Geranium

Sheeperfect^® Pain: Peppermint, Lavender, Eucalyptus, Rosemary, Clove

Sheeperfect^® Prayer and Meditation: Frankincense, Myrrh, Saffron

Sheeperfect^® PMS Relief: Lavender, Eucalyptus, Tea tree, Peppermint, Neroli, Ylang ylang

Sheeperfect^® Renew: Frankincense, Tea tree, Rosemary, Lemon, Eucalyptus, Sweet orange

Sheeperfect^® Sleep: Ylang ylang, Lavender, Frankincense, Neroli

Sheeperfect^® Soothing Throat and Cough: Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Rosemary, Oregano

Sheeperfect^® Stay Well: Sweet orange, Clove bud, Eucalyptus,

Rosemary

Sheeperfect^® Stress Less: Bergamot, Lavender, Frankincense

Sheeperfect^® Weight Loss/Management: Grapefruit, Bergamot, Cinnamon, Ginger

Sheeperfect^® Wound Care: Frankincense, Lavender, tea tree

Sheeperfect^® X-ema: Bergamot, Clove bud, Tea tree, Thyme