“but during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard.  Your harvest’s aftergrowth you shall not reap, and your grapes of untrimmed vines you shall not gather; the land shall have a sabbatical year.”  Lev. 25:4-5

It snowed last week in my area, which for January, most of the country would say this is normal, but for Coastal SC, it is a rare event that gets everyone in a stir.  Since I spent the majority of my childhood in Pennsylvania, snow is more a reminder of times gone by and one that still fills me with child-like awe.  I spent the entire day moving from window to door and back again, monitoring the progress of our snow.  The following day, I went out to walk around the neighborhood admiring the beauty of our fresh fallen snow.  I was off from work because of the snow and by the time I was scheduled to return to work, I began to lament that I had frittered away my time, when the Lord reminded me about the importance of being dormant from time to time.    The snow and the dormancy of life in the moment, served as a reminder to me of what it seemed like my past year has represented.  I’ve had lots of good ideas and intentions, began a few projects but especially by the end of the year, everything seemed to be lying dormant.  So how marvelous it was to be reminded by the Spirit that dormancy produces a thriving life.

The passage in Leviticus above, is part of the Law that instructs the Israelite nation to give land a rest after every six years of work just as they were commanded to give themselves a day of rest after six days of labor.  The text goes on to say that in the seventh year, the land would produce enough food for all the people, their livestock and their servants (v. 6-7).  In fact, further down in the same chapter, it says that in the sixth year, the land will produce enough food for three years, but only if they followed the instructions to give the land rest (dormancy) every seventh year.

Back to my story about the snow…interestingly before the snow and before the new year, I had been secretly hoping in my heart that God would allow me some down time just so I could regroup, reset, refocus on some goals and gather my strength and fervor again.  He answered that prayer in the form of a snow/ice storm that literally shut down all activities (even church) for a few days.  Already my life is ramping back up again.  I feel in my heart that all that was lying dormant is about to flourish in my life in the days, weeks and months ahead.  Is it your season to thrive?  Or is it your season to be dormant?  No matter which season, learn to give God thanks for the moment; He knows what is best for you and me.