A Sabbath Prayer

When you love what you do, the people you get to do it with, and the mission behind the work, it’s easy to get caught in that being your life. At least, that’s how it plays out for a lot of time for me. I have a strong desire to produce, to bring value, and move the mission I’m apart of forward. So much so that I frequently struggle to keep what I do and who I am, my identity, separated. And even when I had time off from work, there’s still other “work” to be done. This constant need to always be producing has led me many times to a place of just being depleted, unable to continue to bring my full self. I wanted to change that because I knew what I was doing wasn’t working nor sustainable.

So, over the past year or more, I’ve been working to embrace more of the practice of Sabbath. Taking a full day (as much as possible, though not always feasible) and letting myself turn it all off and focus on realigning my identity, the person God has said that I am and created me to be, and embracing it. Stepping into this practice has been a game-changer! I have margin, more free-thinking space, and I have more joy and inner peace in my life. I’m able to rest in something that I can’t adequately describe.

More recently, though, I’ve started incorporating this prayer as a way to set the tone for the day and align my mind and my heart on what this day needs to be because it needs to be more than just a day off. I’ve shared it below in case this speaks to anyone else.

God, I am enough in this moment because you are in this moment, and you alone are enough. I choose to rest at this moment, letting go of the fears, concerns, doubts, shame, and worry, because those are not of you. You grant peace, joy, mercy, and love to those who come to you. Allow me to find those things from you today, as I set aside everything else and realign my identity with your identity for me. Thank you for your continued pursuit of me, for the opportunity to rest, to be made whole, to have this space to connect with you.
Amen.