Shabbat Shalom my friends.

The physical winding down from the work week, ending with one final exhale of all of the stress from the office is my most favorite moment. Coming home and taking out our wax coated candlesticks and sitting at a table with a hastily prepared dinner that we just tried to get served at a reasonable time is further reinforcement that I do not need to create, produce or otherwise prepare a table to welcome Rest. The table is prepared for me, and all I need to do is take a seat at it.

In a year where my word is “Work,” Sabbath rest does not mean turn on the tv and turn off my brain or sleep in or have a day of peace and quiet. It means after blessing my sons to be like men of great esteem that I remember to bless myself to be like the great matriarchs of faith: Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah.

Of all the work I do, faith is the hardest. It requires a steady hand, a courageous heart, a sober mind and a patient spirit. Thinking on the faith I am encouraged to emulate, after we finished dinner I went outside and admired the sunset, thinking of so many of us waiting on God’s timing, watching the sky like a captain on a boat, looking for signs that the wind is changing direction.

I took a picture of the sunset’s beauty and immediately was approached by a neighbor asking what I was doing, and demanding to see my picture, to ensure I had not taken one of her. I complied, as I had been oblivious to whatever she was doing and had nothing to hide, but it was clear if I did not prove my claim there was going to be a physical altercation.

I walked back into my home and echoed what I am certain many people of faith have prayed, “How long, Lord? How much longer?”I don’t have an answer to that question yet, but this weekend, I am reflecting on God’s faithfulness to the Mothers of my people, and like they did, do the work of faith so that when my life’s story is read, it is not my discomfort, unhappiness or doubt that is seen, but God’s goodness to me and my family that I am certain is being revealed even now.