As I watched the Colorado sun set behind Pikes Peak, I realized that the Sabbath was also making its departure. I felt a longing for its return grow within me. I also felt a twinge of anxiety for the week ahead. This coming January will mark three years since we made the decision to set apart the Sabbath in a much different way than simply calling it 
"the Sabbath" and going to church.
Every week we welcome the Sabbath on its eve, just prior to sunset, with a meal, candles and blessings. Then we bid it farewell after sunset the following day in the same manner. These little ceremonies serve as markers for our family and they help us to regard the Sabbath as holy, set-apart; it is a very special time that God has given to us.
During the Sabbath day, my family and I engage in "Sabbath things" like reading and studying of scripture, listening to praise music, playing bible games, conversing about our faith. We fellowship with our brothers and sisters, watch Christian movies or engage in other activities we consider, "appropriate." Though we do not always succeed, we do our best to protect the Sabbath by building a hedge around it to keep it sanctified.
During these years, the Sabbath has become a necessity. We eagerly anticipate its arrival and dread its departure. As I watched the sun disappear, I thought to myself, "Oh that that time would stop during the Sabbath."
How fitting, for it is in this manner that the Sabbath is a foretaste of the final rest we will experience in Jesus, our Saviour when He returns. It is one of those "already but not yet" aspects of our faith that we get to experience now but not fully. It combines creation commemoration, salvation experience and anticipation of the final consummation and complete restoration of God's Kingdom. Indeed, we should be longing for Jesus' return.
So, we ended our Sabbath by wishing each other a good week ahead, "Shavua Tov!" We had supper, Anne put the children to bed while I washed the dishes, a ritual I enjoy as I use that time to reflect on the day. I smiled and thought to myself, "Perhaps next week, time will stop during the Sabbath."
Shabbat Shalom!