Sabbath Rest

00:01
Ali Federwitz
He has given me His abundance, His completeness, and I’m trusting that in Him, all things are complete. 

00:18
Rich Rudowske
Welcome to the Essentially Translatable podcast brought to you by Lutheran Bible Translators. I’m Rich Rudowske.

00:23
Emily Wilson
And I’m Emily Wilson. 

00:24
Rich Rudowske
We are here today to talk some about Sabbath. What does Sabbath mean to you, Emily? 

00:32
Emily Wilson
I would definitely say that it meant one thing to me when I was a confirmation student and studying the commandments and then very different as a college student and trying to make all of that homework fit over the weekend, especially when I was trying to balance a part time job. But then, really, I enjoyed the Sabbath this past weekend and it meant something completely different. So really, it is a journey, I would definitely say, and something of a growing experience. 

01:04
Rich Rudowske
Sure. Yeah. I think as we’re going to talk here in a little bit, we’ll find that it’s intended to be a gift from God and not a burden, but a delight. And that’s some of what we will talk about when we’re going to talk today with Ali Federowitz, who is LBT’s member care coordinator, and she is coming in with us here from Ghana. So welcome, Ali. 

01:25
Ali Federwitz
Thanks. It’s good to be here again. 

01:26
Rich Rudowske
Yeah, glad to have you with us. How are things in Accra? 

01:31
Ali Federwitz
Hot and lovely. Excellent. 

01:35
Rich Rudowske
Here in Concordia, it is the opposite of that, I think, in both ways. Hot, not hot. And I’m not sure about lovely either. It’s quite windy, actually. And in case we have unexpected noise later, it’s also Moving Day here in the office. So if some of that comes in, we’ll know what that was. So good to be here again with you, talking about Sabbath and let’s talk about a little bit. So why are we talking about this on LBT’s podcast, the Essentially Translatable podcast? Why is this on your radar and something that you’re passionate about, Ali? 

02:06
Ali Federwitz
Yeah, actually it’s one of those things where I would give the advice, but not take the advice until very recently when I did take a full day of a personal retreat and just really kind of reveled in what it really meant to rest. And I think we’re tired. Like, maybe we get enough sleep at night, but we’re tired and we are constantly trying to achieve and make lists and check off lists and we don’t really know what it means to stop and to rest and what that can look like even for different stages of our lives and how it has to grow and change with us. 

02:45
Emily Wilson
So a little bit about personal retreat for people who haven’t experienced that on their own. Ali, could you share a little bit about what a personal retreat could look like? 

02:57
Ali Federwitz
Sure. Especially, I think I’m an extroverted person. I live and get energized off of interactions with others. And sometimes people would say, you really should just take some time and do a personal retreat. And I kind of said one time, actually, that sounds terrible. That was my real reaction. Like, why would I want to go off somewhere by myself? And really what it came down to is I just had in my mind the shoulds and the should nots. I had the list of rules of what it needed to look like, and it just didn’t sound like me. And then just very recently, some mentors encouraged me, this is what it really could look like for you. And so I grabbed two other women so I wasn’t all by myself and went up on what they call the mountain. 

03:40
Ali Federwitz
It’s just really a big, beautiful hill here with forests and gardens and everything. And I had some Bible study materials, and we kind of came together at key points and talked and shared. And then went away in different spots on the grounds where were for an hour or so and did some reflection, some praying, I think learning that it was okay. I didn’t have to sit and pray in focused prayer for an entire day. My mind can’t do that. Many people’s minds can’t do that. But then also knowing that when I came home, life was still happening. Things can happen without me here. And I think, especially as a mom, and maybe I might have control issues. Who knows? To know that, yes, I can get away for myself and come home and things are still moving. 

04:31
Ali Federwitz
I was really amazed at, actually, how refreshed I was after being away. I didn’t come home and feel like, oh, back to the chaos. I came home and I felt ready to be able to face the chaos and even embrace the chaos. 

04:44
Emily Wilson
Yeah. 

04:44
Ali Federwitz
So having that positive experience for myself, I think, even really made me even more passionate about. 

04:51
Rich Rudowske
So today when we talk about Sabbath, I think it’s kind of a term that itself is not a term that people use in regular, everyday speech. Right. So we’re really talking about some kind of change of pace or rest in some way. Although we use the term Sabbath for those of us who are christians, because we are tying it to a recognition that this is something that God has commanded us to do, but not commanded to be a burden, but to be a gift and a blessing to us. The third commandment in the Hebrew scriptures is, “You shall honor the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” And the Sabbath is the 7th day of the week, according to other texts that are nearby there. And keeping it holy, we’ll kind of catch that idea in a second. 

05:39
Rich Rudowske
But the thing I think is really important to recognize is a couple of things for me. One, when you really stop and think about it, you got to love a God who tells you that you need to take a day off. That’s huge and could be life changing, even if folks listening don’t get anything more out of it than this, that God wants this for you. And two, it really is a matter of faith. So you could, from the western perspective, where you have so many options available to you could come at. It’s kind of an arbitrary thing, why this? Why once a week? Why rest? 

06:14
Rich Rudowske
But it really is a matter of faith insofar as if you think about the context where this command is originally given to the Hebrew people who are first traveling and then settling in a land where they’re basically going to do subsistence kind of work to live, when you take a day off from that work, I mean, everything you do in a certain day, that is how you live that day. And if you don’t accomplish what you need to accomplish that day, you could possibly not live or have negative consequences. And so to actually have the faith to sit back and say, I’m going to rest, because God has promised to provide for me, is a deep matter of faith. And that’s true for folks in Biblical times and honestly still true in much of the world today as well. 

06:57
Rich Rudowske
So I think it’s just important to kind of catch a glimpse of that. This is a faith thing, but not only for folks who are in a subsistence thing, and maybe even more so for those of us who work in a real production oriented lifestyle. It’s a matter of faith to say, I can stop this for a minute, right? I mean, what would you say about that? 

07:16
Ali Federwitz
Absolutely. It is definitely relying upon God and trusting that he’s going to not only give you the rest that you need, but that you’re still going to be able to be productive. Let’s say if that’s our focus, be productive during the week. If you take a break right now, I think a God who provides manna and quail, right, it would otherwise rot. But on that last day, no, please do gather extra. You’re allowed to grab extra this time, and it’s going to last. Like you said, people were relying upon God fully and completely. And I think that’s where our example is definitely showing his abundance. I’m reminded of the verse, my grace is sufficient for you. And I was really thinking about that because the word ‘sufficient, I think adequate and satisfactory. When I hear the word ‘sufficient’, I don’t think like abundant. 

08:15
Ali Federwitz
I don’t think like, this is all you need. All you need is my grace. And then I think relying upon God’s grace, trusting that He’s providing not just in what I think of as sufficient, but He’s providing abundantly. He’s the full measure of everything that you need. Yeah, we have to really allow ourselves to let go and trust fully in that. And I think in various times of our lives, we trust more fully than others and we allow ourselves to rest more fully in those times than others. 

08:51
Emily Wilson
And I think that trust is definitely something that we struggle with to even define sometimes because there is such an emphasis on self sufficiency and productivity and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps mentality that we trust in ourselves very often, but we almost are blinded to our self trust and our lack of leaning on God sometimes. A lack of trust in what God was doing and what He had promised. 

09:26
Rich Rudowske
Right. And nobody does this. Even probably the people we’re talking about in the Bible story, for example, none of them were probably like, I’m just going to put it in God’s face. It’s like, I need to be responsible. 

09:37
Ali Federwitz
Those are the terms. 

09:38
Rich Rudowske
Like when we don’t take risks, I need to be responsible, a good steward of the time that God has given me. It’s really easy to rationalize to ourselves why we need to not rest. And I think, yeah, that comes forward in our time too. I mean, really, for the Lutherans listening, you’ll know that the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods.” We explain that as you should fear, love and trust in God above all things. So when you trust your own efforts or insist that what you do is what’s really required to make things happen in spite of any rest, in a sense that is an idolatry. That term we think about, like if you study the Bible when you were a kid, it’s like bowing down to statues or whatever, but there’s so much idolatry that’s just relying on yourself too. 

10:21
Rich Rudowske
Anyways, I don’t want to be a downer here, but let’s speak about the positive things here and again, we really have in mind folks that anybody, really anybody, this is valuable approach to life. Certainly the folks who could benefit most are church workers. These are the folks that push themselves too far and don’t take a Sabbath. And then the missionaries, and we hope you missionaries listen, know we are looking at you. Everybody thinks that the pastors are superheroes on a pedestal and the missionaries are folks that the pastors put on a pedestal. So we know you guys feel a burden, right? And that’s why we really want to talk some about this. So, Ali, you kind of made some points here that I want to flesh out and just see how the conversation goes. So this is a great point. 

11:09
Rich Rudowske
We set rules, guidelines, hours and boundaries for our work. So those of us who are very organized about our work, but not for our Sabbath. So talk a little bit about that. 

11:18
Ali Federwitz
Yeah, I mean, I think about, even for professional growth and development, where do I want to go? What do I want to do? What books can I read? We’re always looking for how to progress and how to get better and grow in those areas, and yet other things stay stagnant. We’re just so used to thinking that our worth is in what we produce and what everybody else sees. There is some sort of prioritization of our vocations, our careers, where the money comes in and then we aren’t doing that with the resources that God has given us, necessarily the gifts that he has given us. I mean, taking a Sabbath is a form of tithing. I’ve always grown up being told you tithe your gifts of money and your time and your talents. 

12:10
Ali Federwitz
And I feel like I’ve always been told your time is how you serve the church. But I also think your tithing of your time is how you just stop, how you just rest and listen and wait and you just try to be quiet and give that time to God, whatever that might mean. I think we’ll get to that in a little bit. Like, what could it look like? Sure. So that we’re not being legalistic about it, but God asks for 10% if we want to kind of take that Biblically literal of our salaries, so to speak. And just one day a week, I feel like He gives us the rest of it. You get 90% of your salary in six days of the week. I just want one. And not only that, but I’m going to show you how to do it. 

13:00
Ali Federwitz
I’m going to speak everything into existence, which, by the way, human, you can’t do that. You can’t speak anything into existence. And then I’m going to rest and I don’t even need the rest because I’m God. But I’m going to just show you how it’s done and then I’m going to give you this example, and I’m going to give you my grace as abundant. I’m going to say abundant from now on. Pardon me? I’m not a translator. I’m just claiming that for myself as a translation. I’m going to give you my abundant grace to cover everything else that doesn’t happen on that day of rest. And I feel like if we really take into account how massive of a gift that is, we should just run to accept it as much as we can. 

13:46
Emily Wilson
So we have this idea of, okay, rules, guidelines, but the Sabbath isn’t necessarily about what we do or what we don’t do, but maybe the absence of certain activities or for others, maybe the presence of certain activities and looking at the Sabbath being God’s gift to us abundantly, giving us his grace abundantly. But also that as we are created uniquely in his image, we are also unique as individuals. And what it means to rest in the Sabbath might look a little different for different individuals. So how have you maybe seen that, experienced that, Allie, along in your ministry? 

14:31
Ali Federwitz
Yeah. And I think that’s good to recognize, too, what things look like for some people is not rest and is not a Sabbath for others. And I think just like our devotional life, as we grow and mature, then our Sabbath rest changes with that, whether it’s that we are able to understand more about what God is giving to us and what is involved in that gift, we understand ourselves more and what it is that we need to do for our physical bodies to prepare for the upcoming week. I really do think it’s part of our growing and changing and maturing. And for those of us with families, what stage our kids are in life impacts how we’re able to rest. And missionaries, too. What are we involved in during the week? Is Sunday the best Sabbath day for us? 

15:25
Ali Federwitz
Is Sunday really the day where you can rest, or is it another day for our family? And I think many people in ministry, not just missionaries, experience the fact that life and work, the lines are really blurred. And as much as you want to set boundaries, I’m thinking of pastors with trustees and elders meetings happening all the time, and hospital visits and all these things. You can’t always choose when those things happen. Sometimes people need you and you just have to go. For our family, too, we decided that we could make Sunday a Sabbath day, but we also had to do things throughout the week so that we were not so exhausted on Sunday that we didn’t even enjoy being together as a family. So we had to set other boundaries in our life. 

16:13
Ali Federwitz
And we had to have things like not working after 8:00 p.m. In the evening so that we could get up the next day and do the work all over again. We actually thrive on schedule. So we even scheduled what our meals were going to be every Sunday so that there was no question some people who enjoy cooking, that’s an outlet, that’s a respite, that’s a creative expression and an expression of love that, unfortunately, is not me at all. So Sunday mornings was the one day a week that we did cereal, which was very expensive here. I think it’s expensive in the U.S., too, but cereal and boiled eggs and then lunch was whatever leftovers we could scrounge up, and then supper became… 

16:58
Ali Federwitz
…it kind of grew and changed, but it was smoothies and muffins, which actually, I do enjoy baking muffins as an act of love for myself and family. And then as our kids got older, they really got involved. The snacks and smoothies on Sunday evenings has become such a huge deal. It’s like we have a bigger spread on Sundays than we do the rest of the week. This kid’s making guacamole, the kid’s making popcorn, we’re cutting veggies, pulling out whatever treats we might find. And for us now, we’ve morphed into this time where we play games as a family on Sunday afternoon. And it’s something we really look forward to now, that’s after we kind of each get our own individual time. My kids are between 10 and 14, so they can handle being without mom and dad for a little bit. 

17:45
Ali Federwitz
And all five of us, really, we go our separate ways for a little bit after lunch, and then we come together again mid-afternoon for games and snacks and smoothies. And we take a walk around the block. And it feels really nice. Feels like we’re in a really nice place this season of life. But I will say we certainly altered and juggled and struggled to get to this point. And I know that we’ll continue to kind of. We’ll reach a point where it’s like, okay, this doesn’t seem like it’s meeting our needs, and we’ll go to the next level from there. 

18:19
Rich Rudowske
Yeah, because the Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath. It’s a gift to us. And I want to go, kind of, circle back to a lot of what you said. Somewhere in there we had the thought of, it’s not so much what you do or don’t do, but it’s the. Well, Luther writes in the Large Catechism about the Sabbath. It’s not so much what you do or don’t do, but the hallowing of it in the older English, or the making it holy, which is what the Scripture says. And holy means setting it apart and that’s a key kind of biblical term that, again, has taken on different meanings and almost churchly, otherworldly meanings. But to make something holy means to set it apart. 

18:56
Rich Rudowske
And so I like what you’re talking about here in terms of setting apart part of a certain day, setting apart even a couple of hours in any given day or series of days, it’s the setting apart that is really important and even in the first Sabbath, when God rests from creation, He rested, and it says it made it holy. In other words, He set it apart, and not because he had to, but because he wanted to and wanted to model it for us and make it a gift also for our family. When were in a small village in Botswana, we also, on Sunday afternoons, was the day that it made the most sense to say, this is the time that functions as rest or Sabbath, or set apart time for our family. And it looked different for us, too. 

19:43
Rich Rudowske
We usually had an intern or a kid’s teacher that was in our vicinity that worked with us. So she was part of the mix, too. And the three of us adults would go our separate ways and what that usually meant was my wife and the intern would go out of the village to some lovely folks that owned a lodge, about 25, come anytime and just sit by the pool and hike the trails and whatever you want to do, and they would go do that. And I would stay home with the kids, but I’d be home with the kids and get to discipline them however I wanted. And I don’t mean that to sound like, punish them, but I mean, I had a really rowdy group of kids. 

20:23
Rich Rudowske
The Rudowske kids were high energy, and I could let them go and do and be and interact with them and just rest from the normal structure and rigidness. So it sounds kind of funny, but when you’re a family with young children, sometimes finding the way to have Sabbath is a challenge and doesn’t necessarily look like what you expect. If you expect it’s supposed to be some kind of solitude or rest. 

20:46
Emily Wilson
I think that hearing both you and Ali sharing about your experiences, of how to make it your own, that really comes into mind of that balance between rigid, legalistic, and then not having any sort of guideline to be able to determine are you resting or not. It’s almost like a litmus test. And I think that being able to form those boundaries. Boundaries, I’m not going to lie, used to be like a dirty word for me, of like, well, what do you mean? That means you’re putting a wall around something. And that’s the beauty of it, though, of that it is definitely something a little bit more flexible that you are maintaining, but that there is a gate, it’s not just a brick wall. And being able to feel that and experience that within your Sabbath. 

21:37
Emily Wilson
And I think that’s one of the aspects that we’ve shared about in ministry, that it is something that requires flexibility and understanding, and that there are definitely things that come up in our lives, in the lives of those we walk alongside. That means that we might not be able to hold fast to what we were expecting to do on our Sabbath, but being able to say on a normal basis, whatever that normal looks like, how to set boundaries for our Sabbath and to honor those. And I don’t think that there’s anything formulaic about that. But what kinds of questions can people start asking themselves to be able to evaluate their boundaries and maybe to build up on how to create their Sabbath in a set apart way? 

22:36
Ali Federwitz
I think it’s good to evaluate what is it that I do during the week that I find draining and then find a way to accommodate that on the weekend. I’m going to say weekend, but maybe you work throughout the weekend and Monday is a better Sabbath or Friday is a better Sabbath. I think we’ve worked with missionaries too, to just determine. Maybe that’s two-half days. Maybe you start your Sabbath on a Wednesday afternoon until Thursday at noon. We do need to be a little bit creative. Our world has things today that weren’t a long time ago, like everything being open seven days a week. 

23:14
Ali Federwitz
And some people with jobs that are in the service industry, you don’t have a choice of when you work or there’s just hard times and you have multiple jobs and you’re just trying to make ends meet for your family. So God’s grace is sufficient and abundant for that too. It just is that your Sabbath has to look different. So how am I giving of myself during the week that’s draining. And then what can I do or not do on my Sabbath that can replenish that? So I prefer not to cook. I don’t get a lot of joy in that, generally speaking. Or I prefer to have a kid in the kitchen with me doing some baking project that we wouldn’t normally do. 

23:54
Ali Federwitz
So that it’s somewhat special if you’re someone who is constantly interacting with people, conversations and everything, then maybe you have some times of solitude, and that might mean like husband and wife need to take turns with solitude time because of children and then with kids, how are we going to help them to see that this is what’s happening? Some families, for the devotion time, they have special things that signify the beginning of a devotion or a Bible study time. Maybe you light a candle or you sing a song. There’s a rhythm with that, and I think we can echo that rhythm on our Sabbath day and just make it longer. If we go to Jewish tradition, that Sabbath is going to begin on Friday night. There’s going to be house cleaning, there’s going to be food preparation, and then there’s a community element, too. 

24:47
Ali Federwitz
So on our Sabbath, are we going to get together with another family and share a meal? Or because we’re constantly with other people during the week, are we going to just make sure we get close time with our family? Are there certain activities we can do with our kids or help them, help to grow them to also have some time of quiet and solitude? I did listen to, actually several podcasts, and I have a few different resources on just what Sabbath looks like. And one guy who definitely was looking at what it looked like in Bible times, and he just taught his kids on a Sabbath. We pray, we play, God loves us, and those are the things that we need to know. So there was not an emphasis on not doing, it was an emphasis on God loves us no matter what. 

25:36
Ali Federwitz
And he’s given us this day. So we’re going to pray and thank him. We’re going to play and we’re going to be together, and we’re going to honor this day. So I really liked that, especially thinking about having maybe toddlers, yeah. Play and maybe play with them and then maybe encourage them to play on their own. Dad’s going to read this book over here for just a little bit, and we’re going to have just a little bit of quiet time. Maybe you can play with Playdoh, or maybe there’s certain songs you can listen to, just establishing some of those rhythms. Not being afraid, I should say, not being afraid to just try things out. And if they don’t work, then that’s fine, right? 

26:18
Rich Rudowske
I think it’s one of the things that came to mind while you were talking, too, is talking to your kids about what’s going on and teaching them. It’s one thing to say mommy just needs to rest or whatever, but rather than that and making a kid could kind of fill that in with like, boy, I’m kind of a burden to my mom. Just God created this cycle of rest to actually overtly talk about that this is a healthy thing for everyone. And so we’re as a family, looking at doing these different things or taking these different steps to give ourselves that rest. And so that might look like mom doing this or dad doing that, but just having that conversation and including the whole family in even maybe talking and thinking through how are we going to do this together? 

27:04
Rich Rudowske
Or what seems like Sabbath to you to learn that about each other, that could be really powerful. 

27:10
Emily Wilson
And thinking about too, of what drains us sometimes it’s not necessarily that the activity is draining, but the time at which it happens, or that when you compound this and this, then it becomes draining. And so, like, for example, you were talking about something that you enjoy doing is you love baking for your family, those muffins. It’s not being in the kitchen entirely, but rather maybe like that specific activity. So being able to see where God has given us joy and seeing that as we’re digging into scripture, of where is it that God is leading me and what he has planted in our hearts to draw us closer to the people in our lives and to him. 

28:07
Emily Wilson
Maybe it’s a passion for the outdoors and being able to focus in on like, okay, I’m going to include my family, or whether it’s in solitude and being able to read scripture and also engage in his creation or being in community, thinking about the different ways that God has wired us and that it’s not necessarily a black and white of I’m drained versus I’m not, but maybe really kind of analyzing a self awareness of I’m drained by this thing when I’ve got these other aspects on my plate. So I’m an extrovert and I love to meet new people and hear their stories and really just kind of delve in things with COVID really have kind of shifted gears for me. Like, oh, I feel like I’m becoming more introverted because of the physical distancing protocols and everything, but that my recharge happens. 

29:12
Emily Wilson
Like, okay, that my extroverted tendencies during the work week have been so focused on productivity and accomplishing and moving forward in teamwork that I still need those relationships as I’m in Sabbath rest. But rather than looking to accomplish something, I’m looking to fellowship and be in this state of we’re just being. We’re just going to be. We’re not, like, in this state of we need to accomplish this goal so that it’s not, oh, I need to be alone now, but rather what has my focus been on with my relationship and just kind of discovering that about myself along the way with this Sabbath journey. 

30:08
Ali Federwitz
In hearing you talk, too, Emily, in you know more self discovery, I think Covid’s given that to everybody. You’re forced to be introspective more than maybe before. And I had to know, where do I spend my energy during the week? What drains me, but another way too, to look at it is what do I do so much now that it no longer has value. And so how would resting from that thing restore its value? I think that could be another way to evaluate things. I don’t want to say the shoulds and the should nots, but what can you incorporate into your Sabbath? And also remembering? God created us with lots of senses, and how can we experience his creation that engages the senses? Would that mean going out for a walk and enjoying nature or listening to music? 

31:06
Ali Federwitz
Really trying to make this something that fills up tanks involving all of the senses. I was actually reading a book on trauma this morning, so just some light reading. And it was talking about spiritual resilience and how those who develop spiritual resilience can recover better from trauma. And for some reason, it brought to my mind Sabbath and how that can really work towards our spiritual resilience. And I had this imagery of a crying baby. And there’s this strange thing that most parents know, that when a kid gets over tired, they just don’t sleep. And what is it you just want to say? You’re so tired, why don’t you just go to sleep? That will solve all of your problems. And I thought, that’s what we are without Sabbath. We are these tired, crying babies who cannot be consoled, who cannot fall asleep. 

32:03
Ali Federwitz
And then we’re just going to go into the next day as tired, if not more so than before. So this rest that God gives us is allowing us to take that nap that we cannot allow ourselves to do, because we are otherwise just so overstimulated with everything happening around us that we won’t allow ourselves to calm down. So anyway, for what it’s worth, for who might resonate with the overtired child metaphor. 

32:33
Rich Rudowske
So I’m going to speak for the guys listening here and talk about there’s a season in my life where all the stuff we’ve been talking about for the last several minutes, I would have said that all seems really self-centered. Like, it sure seems that it’s a lot about me, how would you respond to that sort of sentiment? I think that’s a sentiment that. I don’t know if it’s only men, but I think men sort of sometimes take that approach to things like that. Seems pretty warm and fuzzy and self centered. All the Sabbath rest stuff. 

33:04
Ali Federwitz
I think it would be better to say it’s God centered. Right. You aren’t actually focusing on yourself, but we’re going back to trusting in God and his abundance. I think it could be, maybe a better place to start. If that’s somebody’s take on it is okay, then how can I make this for my family? Or if I’m a single person, who can I fellowship with, where we can Sabbath together, celebrate the gifts that God has given us in some way by sharing. Maybe there’s Bible study involved. Maybe there is camaraderie involved. Maybe there’s just some sort of activity that you do where it really builds one another up. You can exercise on the Sabbath. It’s not saying that you can’t exert yourself, especially if that is something that really can energize you. 

34:03
Ali Federwitz
We think of rest as sleep, but this is really about what’s charging the body for the week. And God has given us that. So maybe that’s stereotypical. Men exercise, sweating, sports, whatever. But I think you can do those types of things, and then that’s all the more engaging the senses. I think there is a self centered aspect, though, because if we don’t take that time to rest, then what’s going to happen for the rest of your week and what’s going to happen for the rest of your life? You start noticing things falling apart. 

34:38
Emily Wilson
Yeah. 

34:38
Ali Federwitz
And I think too for process or product oriented people wanting to achieve, right, the idea of retreating so that you can advance, that’s a paradox that we can’t understand. But if we just stop and allow the world to go on without us, without it needing us, we can see that it doesn’t need us. Then actually we can maybe accomplish even more because of it. 

35:07
Emily Wilson
I think that there is with that restoring, rejuvenating, recharging, all of that verbiage and that question of, is it self centered? Is it a self-awareness that we would naturally expect anything that is biological? That there are natural seasons and periods of that rest? And we have that beautiful imagery set in Ecclesiastes to be able to share and to show like, okay, this is very natural. This is how God designed us. And like you said, Ali watching that baby just struggling and that it’s nonsensical, it’s against God’s design for us to go on and on without resting, that bringing it into that trust that we are actually more capable in our serving of God and others. 

36:12
Emily Wilson
When we restore, when we recharge, when we get back into the Word, someone who is going 24/7 without a break is exhausted, that’s when they start breaking down in their relationships, physically, emotionally, that there is a deficit. And no one would expect for a surgeon to go without resting. That would be detrimental to him and to his patients. So if looking at it from that framework of we are all, maybe we’re not operating and it’s not life or death in that sense, it’s definitely a sense of all of our relationships are supposed to be that we’re ambassadors for Christ and that modeling Christ, he rested like he took time apart and to be in community, but also time to be with the father. 

37:15
Emily Wilson
That it wasn’t a legalistic sort of approach, but that there is that natural balance and that in order to be an ambassador for him and to share his love with other people, that there is that need to refocus on the word and to recharge and to focus on God’s will for us. So just looking at that, of that. Okay, well, what does that balance look like? And that it’s not an easy answer or black and white. 

37:45
Rich Rudowske
Yeah. And you’ve both touched on what eventually spoke to me. And I want to say overtly, because there could be other folks, men or women, who have this sentiment. Like, for me being a pastor or a missionary, the thing that drove me was, I’m here to serve other people. So to pay attention to myself seems really self-centered, like, maybe even more so. And the reality that was eventually communicated to me, that really spoke to me was, and you both touched on this, you won’t be able to serve other people if you don’t take care of yourself. 

38:18
Rich Rudowske
And so for anybody out there listening who is really driven by the grace of God to serve other people, and you feel like that is what I really need to be focused on, you need to stop and focus on yourself or you won’t be able to do that. So showing some love for yourself by Sabbath and love for your family and is showing love for other people because you will not be able to eventually serve. You guys both mentioned eventually breaking down or being unable to serve. So that’s a critical importance. This is not just a self centered exercise, but ultimately prepares and rejuvenates you to take on the task that you have. Yes, but to serve others, which is the calling for God’s people. Ultimately, when you’ve been reconciled to God, then the remainder of your life is to serve others. 

39:13
Rich Rudowske
It seems not intuitive if you just try to think in your own strength and logic. And that’s why God makes the point of saying, you need to rest. 

39:22
Ali Federwitz
It almost seems like it’s maybe even more self centered to not take the time to rest, because then you’re saying, oh, I can just do it all, and then eventually you can’t. 

39:32
Rich Rudowske
Yeah, it’s all about me and my effort and not recognizing. Going back to where we, kind of, started at, it’s a matter of faith to say, God will accomplish that. And that was where I was at. At a certain point, if I don’t, who will? Was kind of the approach that I had, and you had to learn, if it’s going to happen, God will make it happen, and he doesn’t need me to do it all. 

39:58
Emily Wilson
I do want to kind of ask a question, and you guys could probably speak into it much better than I can. But for the people who are in this state of like, oh, this sounds so beautiful, this sounds so wonderful, I want that rest, but they’re almost just in tears because that fear of like. But I can’t let it go. I know that there are a lot of young moms out there who are just like, I just want that peace. But I’m dealing with a toddler, or not yet verbal, to be able to have logical conversations with, to be able to say, like, I need this time. What words of peace or comfort would you say from a space to that person? And how would someone come alongside? 

40:52
Emily Wilson
So, like, for me, for example, coming alongside my sister, who is full time momming and just busy all of the time, what words of comfort would you give? 

41:05
Ali Federwitz
There is a season for everything, I think. And like we’ve talked about, it just looks different at different stages. So when you’re a mom with babies and toddlers, that’s the true tired, right? I’m not sleeping tired. That’s not the same as what we’re talking about now. Like, you long for sleep, deep, uninterrupted sleep, but God’s not saying that, right? God’s saying, I’m giving you rest. So you lay all of those burdens at his feet like he’s hearing them. He is loving you through all of them. And then what does Sabbath look like for you? Can you take a whole day and just rest in God’s promises? Well, maybe not, but maybe there are songs that you’re listening to that are playing in the background as the toddler is hammering with his hammer on the workbench or whatever. Maybe there’s just the rhythm to it. 

42:13
Ali Federwitz
Maybe it’s not the time for. You can’t even really have a kid sit still in church. I remember years of never knowing what the sermon was. I don’t know. I know I’m forgiven, and that’s what I know as a fact. But I have no idea what that sermon was all about. But just by our own postures and our own habits. When you’re in church on your Sabbath day, it’s like the posture of worship, right? And I think, not to cheapen anything, but there is a state of going through the motions, not disconnected from your heart, but like going through them and trusting that at some point this is going to all be fulfilled. God is going to complete this. And sometimes you do have to almost fake it till you make it. 

43:07
Ali Federwitz
And you have to just take small incremental steps and sure cry out in your exhaustion. It doesn’t mean that you’re not allowed to be frustrated or whatever. God can hear all of that and more every single day, but maybe just a recognition of his call to us to just rest in him and trust that he gave us these children to grow and to bring up in the faith, and he’s going to sustain us until that time where we can get an hour to ourselves every now and again. 

43:46
Rich Rudowske
Yeah. And I think a couple of things. If you’re part of a christian congregation, look around and see is there somebody that might mentor you? But I’d rather actually not put the burden on the young family, but to the listeners here who are part of a congregation, look around and see that young family and see if you can offer just some words of encouragement to pray with them, to help in some way and to not judge. And then I’m thinking of the church workers in particular. If you’ve got a church worker pastor family with young kids, that you sort of picture that everything must be perfect in that house because it’s the pastor’s house or the missionary’s house. But that is definitely not true. 

44:29
Rich Rudowske
And to approach with just that posture of grace and love could be really meaningful and helpful for a young family, young mother, maybe, young single parent who’s really struggling to make life happen and find rest. 

44:47
Emily Wilson
So one of the first years that we had our, it was LBTU back then, before CMI, Concordia Mission Institute, and it was run hard, rest well. And I was one of the conference coordinators and so there were just a lot of aspects where I wanted to engage, I wanted to experience that, okay, I’m going to run hard and then rest well and focus on what does it mean to rest? And I just couldn’t. As a conference coordinator, I couldn’t engage, and I just cried. And I think that sometimes seeing those people in our lives who are also struggling with the. It’s almost like spinning plates. You can’t let anything fall. And just saying, like, okay, I. I recognize that this is another spinning plate for you. 

45:51
Emily Wilson
You can’t stop making meals for your children, but how can I come alongside you and take you out or babysit your children while you can go and have a date night with your husband? Or that there know a single mom in the community who’s just needing the love of Jesus and being able to. Maybe she works on Sundays and her day off is another time. And that just finding a way to come alongside speaking God’s words of truth and love that she has seen, she has heard that his desire for her to rest is also there. And that as the church, as brothers and sisters in Christ, we can come alongside and offer that, too. 

46:44
Emily Wilson
That, yes, it’s a self-awareness of what our own needs are, but sometimes dependent on life circumstances, maybe people are in a darker place that they aren’t able to find that rest to recharge, so that coming alongside can offer words of hope and can bring things into a clarity that maybe they wouldn’t be able to see otherwise. So, yeah, just thinking about the power of that togetherness that we have and… 

47:17
Rich Rudowske
…that image of the spinning plates that just really hit home. Because I can remember a time as a young parent, young married couple with lots of small kids, hearing the call to take Sabbath rest, feeling like another plate to try to spin, and the guilt and heaviness that came with that. And one of the ways that someone walked with us through that was somebody just saying, it may not be possible to do this right now if it’s feeling like this is another burden. And I think that I wouldn’t want to say that you just kind of suck it up and say, okay, well, I can’t do it now. But for me, that was a helpful thing right at that time to say, that’s something I aspire to. I can’t see the pathway now. And that’s okay. 

48:00
Rich Rudowske
And we’re going to get there, rather than feeling it like, okay, I’m spinning all these plates, and here’s. And you don’t mean to pick on Brenda Jenks, but here’s Brenda Jenks handing me another plate to spin. That’s not what she’s trying to do. And if it feels like. And even if you’re listening to this podcast, if you haven’t turned it off by now and it feels like we’re saying, here’s another plate you need to spin, that’s not where we’re going. 

48:21
Emily Wilson
Okay. So just bringing in that imagery of burdens as preparing for this podcast. And I was like, okay, where does Sabbath show up in scripture? And that was one of the recurring things. And I know that they’re talking about physical burden, but in a lot of ways, it really ties in, too, of, like, just one of the verses here up on my screen is Jeremiah 17:21. Thus says the Lord, take care for the sake of your lives and do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. Yeah, he’s talking about physical burdens. But also bringing into that aspect of is the Sabbath becoming a burden that is like, contrary. Right? 

49:08
Emily Wilson
It’s like, contrary to it being set apart and that it is God’s command for us that, like you said, that is it another burden that’s almost contrary that God’s saying, that’s not my intent again, that the Sabbath was created for man, not the man for the Sabbath. And being giving grace to people and openly, right, that they have that grace pronounced to them that it’s not just something that they have to internalize, but rather being that community of grace and sharing that good news of, like, the Sabbath is here for you to rest. And this is how we can come together and make that a possibility for you who are feeling especially weary and burdened, because those burdens can be laid down and in that trust and faith in God. 

50:04
Rich Rudowske
So for folks who may be interested in trying to think this through more or access some resources that would unpack further thinking about Sabbath, what recommendations do you have? 

50:17
Ali Federwitz
Well, I was even thinking for myself, what is it that helps me to set apart my Sabbath day? And I think people might actually be surprised. My kids play Minecraft on Sunday. It’s the only day of the week that they are allowed to play video games. So some people, you could easily judge that, right? It’s going to be different for everybody, but that’s like their thing that they look forward to. And for me, I have a couple of different blogs that I only look at on Sunday, and it’s something that I look forward to. I come to my room, I sit on my bed, my kids are off doing their thing, and I just take some time to read a few blogs that I really like, and actually, a ridiculous thing is that I look at the Aldi ad for the week. 

51:02
Ali Federwitz
I love Aldi. We don’t have Aldi here. I just want to see what they’re selling. So I do that on Sunday. Growing up as a kid, the Sunday paper was full of all of the ads and everything. And that’s a memory that I have from Sundays as a kid. So that’s the adult version of it. I don’t look at all the stores online, just Aldi, and it brings me joy. So these are things like, are those worshipful things? No, absolutely. They are not worshipful things. But it’s like there’s something different. It’s a different pace from the day, and it just brings me joy to do that. There are some books that are really easy. Actually, one book that came up in all the other books that I was reading is called keeping the Sabbath Holy. And it’s W-H-O-L-L-Y keeping the Sabbath holy. 

51:52
Rich Rudowske
Okay. 

51:53
Ali Federwitz
And the one book that I just finished reading is really short, and it’s called, “Sabbath Keeping”. And what I loved about it is it really spoke against all of those prescriptive things. What should the Sabbath be? But just really talking about, if you’re one of those families that is running errands all week long, then maybe on Sunday you shouldn’t run. Know, maybe there might be other times for that. And then seeing the opposite sides of things and how Sabbath has morphed and changed for different people. We did mention briefly, run hard, rest well by Brenda Jenks, and she’s done workshops for a variety of different people. That’s another really short thing. 

52:35
Ali Federwitz
Again, not wanting it to be a burden for anybody, but just seeing examples of maybe what it could look like and just finding these small bites of things that you can do to help jumpstart what a Sabbath can look like. Something that really spoke to me for my personal retreat was a soul care podcast from the Potters Inn, and it was just about us taking a solo day. And he really just said, if you’re worried about if you’re doing it right or not, then you’re not doing it right because it shouldn’t be about what is right. But he gave some great suggestions about combining resting, observing, praying intentionally with taking a walk or doing some sort of exercise, reading a book for enjoyment, and reading a spiritual book. 

53:22
Ali Federwitz
And I really liked those suggestions and how to break up your day and if you wanted to do that with somebody else. So this would be for a personal retreat, which I think really can help get you into a Sabbath rhythm, or it can help with the framework of maybe what your Sabbath looks like, having meals together as a family or as a community, whatever that community might mean for you, the family next door, or the Bible study group, or whatever that might be. So those are some kinds of things that have really helped to inform my views of Sabbath, because I was one of those people that thought I’m not doing it right, which meant I wasn’t doing it right, because that was my main concern. 

54:03
Ali Federwitz
Rather than resting in the gift that God has given me, that he has given me his abundance, his completeness, and I’m trusting that in him, all things are complete. 

54:14
Rich Rudowske
Absolutely. That’s a great note. To land on Sabbath is a gift from God and a gift that we can give ourselves. But more importantly, when we give it to ourselves, we give it to each other as well. The family that takes Sabbath together is giving a gift to each other, and honestly giving a gift to anyone that is in your sphere of influence, that you could possibly influence or work with or serve. When you have taken care of yourself in this sort of way, you’re giving them a gift. And that’s why God gave it to us. At least one of the reasons. So thank you very much for our time this morning. We’ve been talking with Ali from Ghana, where it’s, I guess, getting to be nighttime. And yeah, thanks for your work on this. 

54:56
Rich Rudowske
We worked hard to put this Sabbath episode together, but we sure hope it’s a blessing for everyone and certainly encourage you to not think of this rest or Sabbath as a burden, but as a gift and to proactively explore ways that you can receive this gift from God. 

55:17
Rich Rudowske
Thank you for listening to the Essentially Translatable podcast brought to you by Lutheran Bible Translators. Look for past episodes of the podcast lbt.org/podcast or subscribe and leave a good rating on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow Lutheran Bible Translators ‘social media channels on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter or go to lbt.org to find out how you can get involved in the Bible translation movement and put God’s Word in their hands. 

This episode of Essentially Translatable was co-hosted by Emily Wilson. Our producer and editor is Andrew Olson and the podcast is distributed by Sarah Lyons. Our executive producer is Amy Gertz. The artwork for the podcast is designed by Caleb Rodewald. Music written and performed by Rob Veith. I’m Rich Radowske. So long for now.