“And leaving the crowd behind, they [the disciples] took Jesus with them in the boat, just as he was” (Mark 4:36).
If the crowds tried to follow Jesus, he decided to honor his boundaries. Honor your boundaries by enforcing the consequences if your boundaries are violated. A boundary is, “If you do X, I will do Y.” Let’s say you’ve set a boundary around your sabbath where you don’t read or respond to emails. The consequence of emailing you on your day off is that you will not respond until you return to the office. Whether you read or respond to emails on your day off is entirely within your control.
You have the power to set the boundary by deciding ahead of time how you will care for yourself. You also have the power to honor the boundary by enacting the consequence if that boundary is violated.
When you have sabbath practices that stick, you create life-giving energy, you’re grounded, you’ve had a good night’s sleep, and you live more fully in your calling in the balance between work and rest.
This message is excerpted from “Five steps for creating rest in a world of busyness” by Crystal L. Hall in the January 2024 Café online magazine.
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