The Sabbath is for Renewal

Maybelle Crabtree here. I wrote a post earlier this year about my One Word for 2022: renew. Today I’m writing about renewal because the Sabbath is for renewal.

Renew vs. Renewal

As stated in my previous post, renew means to make like new, regenerate, and give fresh life or strength to. Renewal, on the other hand, is an act or process of making changes to something in order to improve it so that it becomes more successful.

I confess that to this point of the year I have not done very well in renewing the items I wrote about earlier this year. My blogging is still erratic. My creative energies seem nonexistent. And the ukulele still sits in the closet.

My grief this year has been unbearable. The shock of Tom’s death is gone. I deal with raw emotions every day and at the most inconvenient times. The low points are winning. Most of my days I lie on the couch in my bathrobe and pajamas flipping through the television channels. Sometimes I look at our small poster-size wedding photo hanging over the fireplace and yell at Tom. Brushing my teeth each morning is a major feat. My motivation is gone.

The only “thing” that has sustained me this year has been my faith. Whatever strength I have, whatever comfort I feel has come from my Father in heaven. And that knowledge helped me keep one renewing item this year.

Spiritual Renewal

Most modern Bible translations consistently reference “renewal” in some form at least 66 times. For example, Ephesians 4:23 states, “and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds.” (ESV) Another verse is Isaiah 40:31: “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.” (NIV) One more verse is from Romans 12:2: “Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is – what is good and pleasing and mature.” (CEB)

God expects us to constantly renew who we are – in knowledge, attitude, strength, and mind. We must turn to Him – plug-in, get connected, and spend time – for renewal. Deepak Chopra wrote an article on his website, chopra.com, designating 10 ways to spiritually renew our lives. I’ll explain how three of them helped me during this leg of my life-journey.

Gratitude Journal

You’ve most likely heard this before: whatever you think, however you set your mind that is what you will see in the world. If your mind is trained on the negative, all you will see is the bad. But turn your mind to the positive and you will see the good. Keeping a gratitude journal is not just a practice. It’s a way of life and a gateway to spiritual depth. Chopra explains that gratitude can be found in every situation. Thinking is good, he continues, but writing down what you’re grateful for makes all the difference. Training the mind to search for and focus on the good creates a different way of engaging with the world, he concludes.

I began this just a couple of months ago. At first, my gratitude began with very simple and general things: music, roof over my head, sat outside today. Then it became more specific: Matthew called today, lunch with Mary Sue, the hummingbird flitting around the garden, didn’t cry today. Sometimes I write a Bible verse. Even on my roughest, lowest days finding something to be thankful for raises my spirits a notch or two.

Read Spiritual Text

Study groups (I belong to one at church), meetups, and/or online forums are great ways to immerse yourself in a community and receive guidance. Chopra instructs to take our time with the text; read it with a pen in hand. Delve into the meaning behind the text and do further research, if necessary.

Back when the kids were still at home, I would get up before everyone else, prepare a mug of hot water with lemon, sit down in my rocker, and read my devotional Bible; 366 devotions about various verses in the Bible with instructions on how to apply them to my life. I still continue this process. If something “hits” me from a particular day’s devotional or the Bible verse, I write it on my small notepad. Later I transfer it to my planner. This year I added a subscription to a devotional booklet which is sent to me bi-monthly. Reading God’s word is strengthening and comforting and deepens my faith.

Go on a Retreat

Chopra believes traveling and meeting new people from all walks of life breathes new life into our practices. Furthermore, spiritual retreats attract people who are also seeking depth and growth in their lives and connecting with others is one of the markers of the happiest people in the world.

In the spring of this year, I, myself, ventured to a retreat; a women’s retreat held at a monastery just a few miles from my house. Now I didn’t know there even was a monastery so close to where I live. I always thought they were in the middle of nowhere; not near bustling metropolises. But something inside me told me to go. So I did.

The brochure said to bring a Bible and a pen but I packed a small bag with a change of clothes, pajamas, and toiletries to take also. After almost a two-hour drive (the place was only 50 miles away!), I checked into my very small, simply furnished – bed, nightstand, lamp, and sink – room. I shared the bathroom equipped with a toilet and shower with the room next door.

The retreat began with a vesper service and for the next 18 hours I communed with God through songs, fellowship, walks in the garden, and messages of joy, peace, and hope. Yes, it was life-changing. But also a reminder that He is always next to me and loves me very much. I will attend again. Maybe every year.

Renewal = Revival

I know. People hear the word revival and images of bi tents and Bible-thumping preachers cross their minds. But think for a moment. Renewal, and revival, both imply that something is unhealthy. They imply change. They bring about a new awareness of God’s holiness, our sinfulness, and His abundant grace.

Best of all, something renewed is never the same way again. God wants more for us, far beyond what we can imagine. I still have 3 months or so to get to my other “renew” items. However, if spiritual renewal is all I do this year than so be it. It’s God’s will – God’s plan – which is so much better than I could ever plan myself. And that is why the Sabbath is for renewal. Maybelle Crabtree signing off.