Sabbath is...

"Rest in Harvest" by William-Adolphe Bouguereau c.1865

Rainbows and Bowties

"Rainbows and Bowties" was the name of a song I wrote when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade. It basically went something like,

rainbows and bowties,
rainbows and bowties,
i love rainbows,
i love bowties,
hearts hearts,
love,
rainbows and bowties....

I was very proud of it and thought it summed up everything about life. Period. Of course, I drew rainbows and bowties all over the page too. I remember begging my mom to read it and so she did, out loud, seemingly unimpressed. How does she not GET IT?! I wondered to myself. This song is EVERYTHING!!! (This is why Rainbow Brite will always be my favorite superhero because she obviously got it. If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch her mission statement here.)

Of course, I survived. I've attempted writing music since, but honestly everything else has come up short. In one moment, I captured the essence of life as only a child could.

One of my dreams has been to write liturgy. I figure I'll get around to it some day. When I do, don't be surprised to see something about a rainbow in there.

So I write these little thoughts out today because this morning, during a break in the rain, I walked Lola. I was grumbling in my head a little about something obnoxious (blah blah blah, unecessary stress, blah blah blah) when I looked up and BAM. There it was - A full length, full color, rainbow. It wasn't the brightest rainbow, but it was solid. It was beautiful. I took a breath and reconnected, letting that grumble-grumble fall away. It has since begun raining again, but I'm okay with that. For a moment, a sabbath moment, I was reminded of something bigger and more beautiful than my stuff. Without the rain, we never get to see the rainbow. So I write this post in celebration of the much needed rain (drought! booo!) and in celebration of the unexpected surprises that stop us in our tracks (rainbows! yay!!!).

Where did you see a rainbow today? Or, what was your rainbow today?

Rest

Your Sabbath Mission today? Look out for places of rest. If you feel so moved, create your own public or private rest area. Take pictures of these places and share them with us in the comments, our facebook group, or any other group that may be following this experiment.

Where do you see someone resting? Where could someone rest if needed? What makes a place restful? How does hospitality and welcome play into building or setting the scene for rest?

Where do you like to rest? What makes that place particularly restful for you? Try to list all of the elements that make it a special place. What do you see, touch, smell, hear? What brought you to that place? How long did you stay? How often do you visit?