As the semester draws to a close, final exams are written, and papers turned-in (or clicked-in, as is the case when one submits a paper online), I’m aware of the inherent beauty of the academic calendar.

Work twelve weeks, HARD. Big push at the end for finals. Then, rest. Sabbath. It’s almost Biblical, even, since from time to time we all need take a break to reconnect with God, with others, with ourselves, (and yes, with those non-academic to-do lists).

One of the differences between my full-time church internship last year, and my full-time student life at seminary this year, is that last year I actually had time to read for fun, to come home from a day at work and not have to worry about homework or studying. I enjoyed an almost nightly sabbath from work, a feeling very difficult to achieve during the school year. It helped me break and connect with Megan, with friends online, with God.

Advent, to some extent at least, is about sabbath, a sabbath from our normal secular-driven holiday thoughts to another a focus on something else entirely. A sabbath to ponder Christ having come, a sabbath to hope for Christ’s coming again. A time to wait, to be allowed to rest, to reconnect with God, with others, with ourselves.

Maybe these feelings are more intense for one who has just finished a semester’s work, but I hope that we all might use our sabbath time whenever it’s each night after work, or a Sunday afternoon, or early in the morning to rest, to wait with God, to hope for the time when all will be well, for Christ is surely coming.