For Sabbatical

It is only human

to become what you do,

to believe you are necessary

for good order and momentum.

So in the beginning

God set humankind apart on a planet

that moves without your control,

that revolves despite your wild desire

to be at the very center of things.

God promised provision on the seventh day,

so that you could practice resistance to

your zealous rhythms with rest,

so that you could stop for a season and trust:

I am so small. And also,

I matter so much.

It is here in the absence of doing

you will remember

the terrible and wonderful news—

that God is still here, making things new,

even and often without your help.

May this Sabbath time return your identity

from production to relationship in which

you hear the call to some things,

not all the things, and relish your place

as a creature of God.