16/12/2021

A reflection and prayer to start the day with Catherine De Souza, Senior Leader of City Church in Cardiff.

Good morning. I used to live in London and one of the things I learnt whilst living there was that London requires alternatives to driving. Obviously, there are buses and the Tube, but lots of people cycle and I thought it seemed like a healthier and greener way of getting around. So I bought myself a bike. A friend of mine is a bit of a bike enthusiast and she very kindly offered to go out with me the first time I took my bike out in the city. So we set out, cycled along the riverbank and then turned onto the main road. I was cycling along thinking I was doing pretty well, peddling away, keeping a safe distance from the cars and following her direction.

Then strangely she just stopped. Now I’m not fully sure what went through my mind at this point, but I do remember briefly thinking “it’s strange that she’s stopped, maybe it’s my turn to ride in front” so I kept on peddling and I rode past her. I looked to my left briefly as I overtook her at a crossroads – then I looked to the right as I saw the cars speeding towards me. I had gone into a major crossroads and had ridden into the path of oncoming traffic. I turned round to see the look of shock on my friend’s face as it occurred to me – she had stopped for a red light!

Sometimes in life we leave it too late to stop. We might think we have to keep peddling, but actually we need to rest, not just as a last resort because we’re exhausted, but as a regular rhythm. God created the sabbath for this very purpose – a time for us to pause from our toil and our work, and instead to just rest in His presence. In this Christmas season, let’s remember to regularly rest, taking the time to slow down and encounter God in our sabbath.

Lord of the sabbath, thank you that you created us to work and rest. Help us to build rhythms into our lives that cause us to pause both mentally and physically. Bless our rest as you bless our work, Amen.