A Story Of Unintended Sabbath

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10 Reminders To Thrive In Christ

When the happy golden years turned tragic, the Holy Spirit showed up with the gift of perfect peace and perfect rest –– and a Sabbath lesson for us all.

This guest post is part of a series on Sabbath Rest for Small Church Ministry LLC, where we help women create joy & success in small church ministry. Any opinions expressed within this blog post are those of the author and not necessarily held by Small Church Ministry.

Are You Thriving Or Striving? 

Are you really busy at church? Or rather, are you really invested in the life and mission of your church? (Amen!)

Does your busyness or activity level deepen your relationship with Christ, feed your soul, and bring you into such intimacy with God you could weep? 

I’ve been a believer for quite a while –– been through the highs and lows of the spiritual journey. There were times of light responsibility at church –– young motherhood and when I was working –– a Sunday school class here, leading youth group there, a committee here, a board there …

Then, home life grew more quiet. I semi-retired and I began to get more involved in our church. I had the time, and I was led to offer my skills and gifts in some pretty time-consuming ways.

At that point, I think I had 11 different commitments at church. I enjoyed them all and was really connected with the different ministries and those with whom I “labored.” I wasn’t trying to earn God’s favor or impress anyone; I just wanted to be used. 

However, I didn’t really feel that my relationship with God was going deeper. I was spending less and less time in the Word and my prayer life was perfunctory “check-list” style.

I wasn’t estranged from God, but I was relating with Him more as an acquaintance than my ABBA. 

The Happy Golden Years 

A few years went by and after some long-term planning for our golden years, we sold our house, started a building project, and moved to temporary housing. I came down with shingles on my head and in my eye, and we moved to a rental until our new home, which was designed for us to ‘age in place,’ was finished.

At the same time, a soul sister received a fatal diagnosis and was trying to plan for her family going on without her. We would walk and talk about telling her 2 children, what kind of funeral she wanted, how her husband would cope, and what it felt like to face her approaching death. I remember storing away something she said to keep from sliding into a deep depression: 

1. Remind yourself of God’s faithfulness to you in the past.

2. Recognize how He is being faithful to you now.

3. Remember what you know to be true about God.

Lights & Sirens 

In the midst of these life-changing decisions, out of the blue in the winter of 2015, I experienced some mild stroke symptoms that passed in a few minutes. I walked in just fine to the ER. They discovered a giant brain aneurysm and sent me by ambulance to the big city hospital. After lots of imaging and consultations, I’m not too worried yet.

My new friend, the neurosurgeon, advises me to have brain surgery and have a 25% chance of surviving, or don’t, and have no chance. Well now, maybe a little bit worried. He can’t make any predictions about how I will be affected mentally or physically, but he’s confident he can take care of the aneurysm so it won’t burst, which would mean lots of deficits if I lived.

Easy choice, surgery. But not for a few days! 

The Holy Spirit Shows Up

That weekend was long, and with each passing moment, perfect peace descended.

By the time they wheeled me into the operating room and I looked down the hall at my husband and daughter standing there, I knew I might never see them in this world again. The Holy Spirit reminded me that the alternative was waking up in the presence of God! That was sad in some ways, but either way, I knew I’d be okay. 

Needless to say, I lived.

After a few days of an induced coma and a slow reawakening, everyone was waiting to see what kind of shape I’d be in. During the nine-hour surgery, I had a brain bleed (stroke) and things looked pretty grim. I didn’t know this yet and was a bit groggy, but I felt that I had control of my senses.

What I slowly learned was that I didn’t have control of my left side. The brain damage was pretty much all motor control though. I didn’t lose language, speech, cognitive skills, or memory! 

Under His Wings

I even gained some things in the area of the brain that was damaged. Some odd, funny, or delightful things. Most importantly, a great desire to just be with God. Through ICU, rehab hospital, and early months of recovery, I could spend hours with Him, in prayer, in wondering, in worship through praise songs, and in the Word. Just being held under His wings near His heart, leaning into His love.

Perfect rest. An intimacy with God I had never known possible.

From an unexpected time of Sabbath (I had no choice really), I’ve learned many things: to walk, to drive, to cook a meal with one hand, to do many things with one hand! I’ve experienced God in what I would’ve called supernatural ways, totally out of character for me! And I do things I would never have done before, like raise my hand in praise, start a healing prayer ministry, and tell my story whenever I can, including in front of the church or for a blog post! 

I still have to remind myself of numbers 1-3 above. Due to my experiences, the past 5 years, I’d add: 

4. Make prayer a top priority.

5. Sing praise whenever you can. I dance too.

6. Take every opportunity to be in the Word, ABIDE!

7. Listen more to the Holy Spirit. You may need to get to know Him better 1st.

8. Spend time with people who nurture and nourish your soul. Find your tribe, your peeps.

9. Minister where and when God calls you.

10. Love Him and be loved by Him. Or is it vice versa?

Read More:

Sabbath Rest: Draw Near

The Journey To The Address Of Rest