Some of my favorite childhood memories are grounded in those mid-day hours. My step-mom and I made lemon blueberry muffins (with tart icing always dyed blue!) We’d gather around the TV to watch the Cowboys (Roger Staubach days) and during half-time we’d walk through nearby woods in search of kindling for our wood stove.
In the chapter, hammock: why you’re never too old for naptime, Laura J. Boggess has this to add about those days:
“I remember long afternoons under the shade of the apple tree—cooling our tongues with the juice of green apples, drifting in and out as the sun played chiaroscuro over our eyelids. And I remember the scent of summer rain through open windows as my little brother and I lay whispering on my bed—waiting for our bodies and minds to drift into an afternoon nap. Rest. As I gently touch these memories with the finger of my heart, a gale of longing wells up inside of me, and I wonder. When did I forget the way slowing down leads me into the arms of the Father?
My Jewish friends would not be surprised at this tender ache that pulses inside of me. “You are missing keeping the Sabbath,” one tells me. “Your life is too busy. How can you hear the voice of God amidst all that noise?” He believes this longing for rest is built up into my spirit; he believes God put it there.
Might practicing Sabbath be a way to meet that hunger and set a table to feed it? And so I began to sit with the longing. I start small—Sabbath moments. With each setting sun, I gather a bit of the day together at its edges and be still. These moments take me back under the apple tree—looking up through the branches at the clouds moving slowly across the sky. And I feel the promise of new life; the hunger is sated for just those short moments.” -Laura J. Boggess, Playdates with God, Having a Childlike Faith in a Grown-Up World
Our Turn…where was (or is) your “under the apple tree” kind of place where you gather the bits of your day and be still?
Coming up in June…
Kick off those sandals! Posts from our NEW series begin Monday, June 1st.
I’ve been a proponent of morning quiet times since becoming a Christ-follower years ago. Here’s why:
Jesus prayed in the morning (Mark 1:35)
Morning prayer is recorded in the Word (Psalm 5:3, Psalm 90:14, etc.)
It sets the tone for the day.
I’m a morning person.
But what happens when we heap guilt emphasize the time of the day we meet with God more than the “date” itself?
Laura J. Boggess touches on this in the sixth chapter of Playdates with God…Having a Childlike Faith in a Grown-up World, entitled Super Soaker: When Life Feels Dry:
“When did we decide that the morning quiet time was the gold standard? Yes, Jesus rose early in the morning to meet with God, but he prayed at night, too (Luke 6:12). And Paul tells us to pray without ceasing. Do we get so hung up on the way our quiet time should look that we don’t meet with God at all? I wonder what would happen if we stopped trying to look like everyone else—if we embraced our own unique personalities in our spiritual lives.
Some people love to pray as they walk their neighborhood, some as they climb mountains, some as they create paintings. Some might quilt—every stitch a prayer.
Invite him in. He wants to be with you. Yes, you. You with the freckles and the spare tire. You with a quick temper who loves to sleep in. You, the one who learns in pictures and struggles to sit down and read. He wants to be with you. He knows the number of hairs on your head. (No matter what color they are.) And he probably counts the freckles for fun.” – Laura J. Boggess
Save the Date:
Morning, noon, or night…it matters not. What matters, as you know, is making the time to meet with the living God who loves us with such an extravagant kind of love.
You’re Invited:
Whether you’re stitching your prayers away, or walking them off, what’s one new way you might try spending time with God this week? No other date will rival this one.
So, are you an early riser/pray-er or do you prefer another time of day?
Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. 1 Chronicles 16:11
Cathy Baker
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Might practicing Sabbath be a way to meet that hunger and set a table to feed it? And so I began to sit with the longing. I start small—Sabbath moments. With each setting sun, I gather a bit of the day together at its edges and be still. These moments take me back under the apple tree—looking up through the branches at the clouds moving slowly across the sky. And I feel the promise of new life; the hunger is sated for just those short moments.” -Laura J. Boggess, Playdates with God, Having a Childlike Faith in a Grown-Up World
